The Multiple Trios Dilemma
by Mia-Marauder-Potter
Summary: #1 in my Multiverse Series. The trios from each of my fics plus some other universes I wanted to play with are thrown into the Golden Trio Universe - the prime universe - and have to figure out how they got there and how to get back before they're misplaced again. Just a fun idea I had two years ago and finally finished.
1. KEY

**Multiple Trios Dilemma Key**

**Alexia Potter's Group - Pink**

\- Alexia Potter (AP)

\- A.P Regulus

\- A.P Harry

\- A.P Ron

**Golden Trio Group - Gold**

\- Hermione Granger (HG)

\- H.G Harry

\- H.G Ron

**Mia Potter's Group - Purple**

\- Mia Potter (MP)

\- M.P Regulus

\- M.P Avery

\- M.P Harry

\- M.P Ron

**Black Sibling Group - Black**

\- Cassiopeia Black (CB)

\- C.B Regulus

\- C.B Sirius

\- C.B Harry

\- C.B Ron

**Happy Harry Group - Blue**

\- H.H Hermione Granger

\- H.H Harry

\- H.H Ron

**Adelaide Snape Group - Green**

\- Adelaide Snape (AS)

\- A.S Fabian

\- A.S Avery

\- A.S Harry

**Founders Group - red**

\- F. Hermione

\- F. Sirius

\- F. Salazar

\- F. Harry

\- F. Ron

**Amelia Black Group - teal**

\- Amelia Black (AB)

\- A.B Draco

\- A.B Harry


	2. Chapter 1

The Alexia Potter Trio

"Alexia! Oh, hello, dear," a woman smiled and touched her arm. Alexia turned around and Regulus grabbed her when she stepped back just so that she wouldn't walk directly into him.

"Hello," Alexia smiled, hoping she didn't look as nervous as she felt. She gripped onto Regulus's hand, unwilling to let it go.

"Hello, Lady Travers," Regulus greeted, bowing his head. "How are you doing?"

"Oh, I'm well," the woman smiled happily. "I was hoping we could discuss Gryffindor Quidditch tryouts last year."

Alexia glanced to Regulus, lost. He nodded slowly.

"I'm sure Alexia didn't mean it personally," he assured her. "She was looking out for her friend by arguing that Lily was objectively better than Henry."

"Oh?" Lady Travers raised an eyebrow at them. "Miss Evans trained since she was a small child as well, then?"

"No," Alexia said because she knew Lily was muggleborn. "But as Regulus said, she did better than… Henry. It wasn't anything personal at all."

"I have spoken with Corey Ross," Lady Travers told her. "He told me an interesting story. You blackmailed him to get your friend her spot? That doesn't seem like something a Potter would do."

"If you'll excuse us," Regulus said, pulling Alexia away. She let him pull her all the way out of the large room they gathered in until they'd reached one that she didn't know but that _felt_ familiar. When she froze, her eyes wide, he squeezed her hand. "Lexi, what is it?"

Her panic was interrupted by a sharp gasp of pain. "Regulus?"

"Lexi?" he frowned at her as she paled. "Hey, what is it?"

"I- oh- oh my god," she breathed, gripping his hand tightly within her own. He grabbed her face gently to look her over. It was clear to him that she was in pain, but why was another matter altogether. Before he could question her, she let out a scream. A bright light flashed through the room, and the pair of them felt the same uncomfortable feeling as if they were being forcibly apparated away. When it ended, they were left completely confused.

They had been thrown out of Black Manor, apparently, and ended up… in Hogwarts. They were in front of the door to Dumbledore's office, and Alexia hesitated before she opened it and walked inside.

"What happened?" Regulus asked softly as he looked around the office. "How'd we get here?"

"Fawkes," Alexia muttered, walking over to the large bird. He seemed close to burning if the way he barely looked up at her said anything. "We're not in the seventies anymore, are we?"

"Is that a… Phoenix?" Regulus asked in disbelief. "You know it?"

"He's Dumbledore's familiar," she answered. "But… if he's here-,"

The door up the stairs opened and Alexia glanced up as Dumbledore walked out to gaze at them. He was in his pajamas and seemed utterly confused.

"Miss Granger?"

"Professor," she breathed. She had regained quite a few memories that suggested he'd been dead for some time. "Oh, god."

"Is that- oh dear, Regulus Black?"

"Hello, Professor."

"What year is it?" Alexia asked Dumbledore, her breath hitching in her chest.

"Why, 1996, of course. Is everything alright, Miss Granger?"

"No, definitely not," she muttered anxiously. "I wasn't supposed to get back until May of 1998, according to Regulus."

"She's still having issues with amnesia," Regulus added. "We've done our best but she's only had a few days to work with Uncle Alphard, so she doesn't remember much of her time with us, the past five years."

"I'm afraid I have no clue what you're talking about. Why should you be in May of 1998, Miss Granger?"

"Because that's where I left from! Professor, don't you remember me?"

"You're a very valuable friend to Harry," he assured her. "I do remember you, and you should be at Grimmauld Place with everyone else for Christmas."

"Not Hermione, Alexia," she said, getting worked up. "I came to you in 1971? You put me with the Potters? You came to visit me yesterday because of my memories!"

"Miss Granger, I assure you, I met you for the first time in 1993 when you were petrified."

"Wait," she breathed. "You swore you'd remember and help me protect it all. If you don't remember, then either something has gone terribly wrong or we're- oh, Merlin help us. We've traveled to another universe. Oh… oh, god."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Harry and Ron stood side by side in the Gryffindor common room. It almost seemed like a childish place after what they'd just gone through- what they'd just seen. Still, it did help them to relax and feel like maybe, just maybe, it would all be okay.

"Where's Mione?" Harry asked softly, rubbing the gold snitch in his hands with his thumb. It fluttered open, but he kept a tight grip on it, not letting it fly away.

"Think she went to scream at Dumblecunt," Ron muttered in reply. Both boys smiled softly as they imagined that.

"Maybe we should go help her," Harry said, pushing himself from the wall. The common room had been one of the few places that remained the same, though it had technically been declared structurally unsound. They didn't care- they had magic. They'd be fine.

Ron agreed softly, and the two boys carefully made their way out of the tower and down two flights of stairs where they found themselves stopped by the gargoyle statue, who shook his head at them.

"You let Hermione up there!"

He shook his head again.

"Bloody statue," Ron grumbled. Harry rather agreed with the sentiment, but before he could say as much, a horrible pain gripped them both and then a bright light overcame them, blinding them for just a moment. When it disappeared, they blinked a few times.

Only to open their eyes to a perfectly fine castle.

"What the hell?" Harry breathed, looking around. When they turned around to the gargoyle, it nodded and opened up for them.

"Merlin," Ron breathed, taking the stairs two at a time. When they got to the top, the door refused to open, so they did the mature thing and began banging on it.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"Merlin," Alexia snarled, waving her hand at the door. "Shut up!"

When it opened, she froze, her heart catching.

"Hermione?"

"Harry!" she exclaimed. With all of the confusing memories from 1996 to 1998 and then in the 70s, she felt like it had been forever since she'd seen him. Even so, she felt uncomfortable with so many missing memories. She wasn't sure why he was so dirty, why he had a cut on his cheek, and why he was looking at her with such concern.

And she didn't even realize she was shaking until Regulus grabbed her in a hug. It was slightly frustrating to her that he might know better than her why she was reacting the way she was, but she decided to take a moment to breathe and allow him to help her.

After a long minute and many words from Dumbledore that she was completely ignoring, she pulled away from Regulus and tossed herself into A.P Harry's awkward arms. "Merlin, Mione," he said, looking to A.P Ron for help. "What happened?"

"The hell is with your hair?" A.P Ron questioned, ignoring Harry's pleas.

She pulled back abruptly and looked around, her eyes settling on Dumbledore. "We're going to go to Grimmauld Place now."

"No," Regulus cut in, standing in front of her. "I don't want you there. You know how dark it is."

"I know," she assured him. "But no one dangerous is there right now."

"Actually-," Dumbledore tried, but she ignored him.

"Now, come on," she said, pulling Regulus into the floo without asking. "Twelve Grimmauld Place!"

OoOoOoOoOoOo

The Golden Trio

H.G Harry was moping.

It was pretty well earned, in his friends' opinions.

Last year, he'd spent the holidays with Sirius, his family. And the year before. This year, however, he didn't have him anymore. The man had died before the end of fifth year, and H.G Harry was absolutely crushed.

The Order had considered sending the kids to the Burrow for Christmas, but as it was much too obvious of a place and Grimmauld Place hadn't been compromised yet, so the Order had piled them into their usual rooms with orders to not go down to the basement under any circumstances.

They'd all ended up in Sirius's old room, which H.G Harry had claimed after arguing with Molly for ten minutes. When his voice cracked and he'd stated that it was all he had left, the woman had given in and cleaned the room of anything remotely too mature or even dark before letting him in with a hug and a note that dinner was in an hour.

Most of the Order had decided that, with the twins' new spying inventions, it was overall safer to hold their meeting at the Burrow while leaving the kids at Grimmauld Place to entertain themselves. H.G Harry had just reluctantly followed Hermione and H.G Ron down to the kitchen when the floo burst to life. The trio looked over, expecting someone from the Order to return, but were shocked by the sight before them.

"_What the fuck_?" H.G Ron said loudly, staring ahead of him. Hermione had her wand raised in surprise, and her mind was already racing a mile a minute. H.G Harry, however, was not looking at the girl that had appeared but rather the boy she gripped tightly to her side.

"Sirius?"

The boy's eyes met his. "Regulus."

"Holy shit," H.G Ron said.

"Oh boy," Alexia muttered, squeezing Regulus's hand in distress. "Oh, no. This is bad. I don't know how to fix this, Regulus!"

"Deep breath," he instructed, pulling her out of the floo just before it lit up again, depositing A.P Harry and A.P Ron behind them. "We'll figure it out, okay?"

"For god's sake, Hermione," A.P Harry called, stopping short in front of them, his view of the other trio cut off. "Tell us what's going on!"

"Well, my theory has just been proven," she shook her head. "I'm sorry, Harry, Ron. We're both in the past and another universe."

"How do you assume you're in the past?" Hermione questioned her, speaking for the first time. Alexia turned on her heel. "The only difference between us is your hair. We're the same age."

"Admittedly, we're only about six months apart," she shrugged. "But I know I'm in the past because I actually do remember Christmas holidays in my sixth year. We were at the Burrow, though, not Grimmauld Place."

"Holy shit," A.P Ron said, taller than Alexia enough that he could see over her head. "What the hell?"

"Let's sit," Regulus suggested. "And Alexia and I can attempt to explain as much as we can."

"I'm… experiencing some amnesia," she admitted to her friends. "Something happened and I only remember bits and pieces of the last three years with you guys."

"_Three years_?" A.P Ron exclaimed. "You don't even remember the end of the bloody war?"

"Not so much, no."

"Okay, but who the hell is Alexia?" A.P Harry asked, confused.

"I'd assume it's her," Hermione said, nodding at Alexia. "She's like me but different hair and, assumedly, a different name."

"No, she's Hermione," A.P Ron told her with an eye roll.

"Actually, I'm…" Alexia frowned. "Well, technically I am Alexia, I just don't remember my time being her." When everyone - save for Regulus - just stared at her, she sighed. "Snape sent me to 1971. I was de-aged and sent to live with Charlus, Dorea, and James Potter. I'm his twin sister, Alexia. I've apparently been there for… how long?"

"About six years now," Regulus told her.

"And who are you?" Hermione asked with a small frown.

"Regulus Black," Alexia answered, eyeing A.P Harry, whose mouth dropped open in surprise. "He's a good person."

"He betrayed Voldemort, Mione, I never really doubted it," he reasoned. "Sirius avoided just about anything that caused him pain, including his time at school and his brother. I didn't really assume that meant he was a shit person."

"Sirius is horrible at keeping most secrets," Regulus reasoned. "Lexi and I are so close, it makes sense he wouldn't have talked about me much."

"Can we go back to the part where you said you're my _aunt_?" H.G Harry asked sharply. "You grew up with my dad?"

"Um, sort of," she frowned. "I don't think this happened in your universe. Well… not yet, at least."

"Can you tell me about him?"

"Not really? I don't remember much. Only our interactions over the last few days."

"They're very close," Regulus answered for her. "They've got a twin bond."

"Oh," Alexia breathed, feeling around for it. It felt… wrong. Not broken, exactly, but… passed on, perhaps. When her eyes settled on A.P Harry, she understood.

"We might be able to get back," Regulus assured her.

"I have a question," A.P Ron declared. "Why the hell are you in a _dress_? You hate dresses!"

"Oh," she looked down at herself. "I had a society thing I had to go to… you know, we probably shouldn't have brushed off Lady Travers like that. What exactly did I do to Henry?"

Regulus hesitated. "Lexi, maybe now isn't the time to-,"

"Regulus, what could I do that's so bad?" She asked, confused.

"You blackmailed Ross into letting Lily on the team, which meant kicking Henry off."

"_What_?" Hermione and Alexia exclaimed together.

"According to Sirius, Lily had earned the spot and was being kept off purely because she's a girl," Regulus sighed. "I wasn't there, so I really couldn't say. I'm sure Lady Travers was making it sound worse than it was. You just now have a reputation more matching my House than your own."

"I like myself less and less the more I learn," Alexia complained. "I can't believe I asked Pollux to tutor me."

"Clearly, you needed it," Regulus reminded her, grabbing her hand and stroking his thumb over the light scar on it from the burn she'd gotten trying to cast a blood shield.

"I have… theories as to why this happened, of course, but I can only assume it has to do with my attempt to mess with time."

"You messed with time?" Hermione asked her in horror. She nodded.

"I tried to make sure Sirius wouldn't die."

"But..." A.P Harry looked at her with a frown. "If you messed with time to save Sirius or something, why not my parents?"

"Because their deaths, I'm sorry, but they were catalysts for many other events," she admitted slowly, looking down at the Potter bracelet that sat on her arm. Her gut clenched painfully as she wondered if she was truly in a time without the boy she didn't know but _felt_ to be her brother. "Oh… oh my god…"

"What's wrong with her?" H.G Ron asked, tactful as ever.

"She's just lost her brother," Regulus explained quietly, grabbing her into a tight hug again. "She might not remember him, but she can feel how much she loves him and cares for him. It's the same with me - she trusts me because she trusted me before she lost her memories."

"But I don't understand," Hermione said with a small frown. "Trying to mess with time did this?"

"It's… possible," Alexia shook her head, confused. She pushed her sleeve up for them and pointed at the Vow mark. "I made him take a Vow not to die. The multiverse is infinite, of course, so that decision, that question created an alternate universe where I _didn't_ ask him. I remember that night, actually - I was very much unsure about it. Anyway, it has the potential to create a great deal of alternate universes. One where I asked and he survived, one where I asked and he died but someone else killed him, one where I asked and instead of helping us seal the Vow, Lucius just killed him on the spot."

"Merlin," Regulus shook his head. "Being a bit dramatic, Lexi."

"You get the point, though," she shrugged.

"So wait, why did you ask him? Did you just tell him you're from the future?" A.P Harry wondered, blinking rapidly.

"When I was adopted by the Potters, I was added to the family tree. The problem is that some parts of the Black family were getting… suspicious. They came to the Potter Ball in 1971 and Cissa told Sirius that they were investigating me. He knew I was adopted at that point, as did my friends. So, we… ah, we broke into the houses containing the family tree books I'd be in and erased them. It was Sirius that grabbed the book here, where we went first, and he saw my real birthdate, which was eight years after 1971. It was miserable getting him to stay quiet while we finished, and I think he nearly broke at Malfoy Manor-,"

"Merlin," A.P Ron breathed, eyes wide. "You went back there, Mione? How?"

Alexia thought back to the memory of Dolohov torturing her. "I don't remember it. I mean… a little bit, just when Dolohov interrupted, but aside from that… nothing. James told me about it when I forgot to take my potions because I don't remember- I didn't know I needed to. We had to go back there. They had a family tree."

"Were you okay?" A.P Harry asked her gently, obviously not understanding that she didn't even know why she'd been so upset.

"Once we left," she said slowly.

"But what's wrong with Malfoy Manor?" Hermione asked. Alexia met her eyes and breathed out slowly.

"Whatever it is, it's in your future. You might not even go through it."

"Wait, hold on," A.P Harry frowned. "Dolohov interrupted? What did he do?"

Alexia shared a look with Regulus. "Said some things, mostly. He knows me. We've… interacted in the past, I guess. It's not important. This, us being here, it's just a horrible accident, I'd guess."

"Any ideas on getting us back?" A.P Harry asked, looking between Alexia and Hermione. Both looked contemplative but neither had any immediate answers.

"Wait," Alexia said, frowning at her friends. "Where's Dumbledore? Wasn't he behind you?"

"I think he went to get the Order," A.P Ron told her. "I wasn't really listening."

"Oh, shit," she muttered, eyes on Regulus. "You have to go, Reg. They can't know you're here."

"Dumbledore already does," he told her calmly. "I will be fine. This is my house, after all."

They were interrupted by a familiar screeching, and everyone tensed at the noise of Walburga's portrait yelling obscenities at whoever walked past.

The kitchen door was thrown open and A.P Harry, A.P Ron, and Alexia shot to their feet with wands pointed out, the reflexes from the war still ready, even for Alexia.

Still, what they found was definitely not what they expected.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

The Mia Potter Trio

The doors to the Burrow were open to let the breeze through and while most everyone was outside, Mia sat on Regulus's lap in front of Bill and Charlie, who were eyeing them carefully.

"Out with it already," she scowled, throwing a piece of paper at Bill. "This is annoying."

"We're just trying to envision Hermione Granger as how our uncles said you are now," Charlie said, hoping to calm her.

"Well, good luck," she rolled her eyes. "Because I'm not really Hermione Granger anymore."

"She didn't nearly kill herself studying too much, did she?" Bill asked Regulus with a laugh.

"Please," she rolled her eyes. "I was fine. I'd already taken sixth year, remember? I wasn't too stressed doing it again."

"She was rather preoccupied," Regulus agreed. When he received two glares, the man took in a deep breath, praying for patience. "Believe it or not, I am not the center of her life. She had many Death Eaters to procure."

"Speaking of," she muttered, looking over her shoulder. "Where's Avery?"

"Here," the boy said, walking through the front door with a frown at the Weasley brothers. "You have garden gnomes."

"We're aware," Charlie shrugged. "Ron ran away before mum could make him get rid of them."

Mia reached out for Avery's injured hand and waved her other hand quietly over it while Regulus drew soft patterns over her arm. She squeezed onto Avery as a pain shot through not just her, but Regulus and Avery as well. Bill and Charlie let out shouts of surprise at the bright light that encompassed the trio before they disappeared completely. They were only stopped from investigating by the shouts of surprise and confusion coming from outside as Harry and Ron also disappeared.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"Please, calm down," Dumbledore called tiredly. He hadn't wanted to have an Order meeting in the middle of the night, no matter what the rest of them did. The only thing being discussed was whether to move their prisoner or keep him for more questioning. That discussion, however, had quickly been thrown out when Dumbledore came with news of a damaged Harry and Ron and a Hermione that called herself Alexia, as well as Regulus Black appearing in his office.

"How can you be sure they're not ours?" Remus asked, the first question that met his ears as the yelling calmed.

"I did a test on their cores as they left. Hermione is, in fact, Alexia Potter, twin sister of James Potter. She was sixteen while Harry and Ron were eighteen."

"Hermione is older than them," Tonks called out helpfully. "So, who are they? Where did they come from?"

"I am unsure," he admitted. "But I do suggest we find our way to Grimmauld Place and question them."

"That sounds like a wonderful idea, Albus-,"

A bright flashing light in the yard got everyone's attention, and they rushed out with wands raised to meet the potential threat, which turned out to be… Harry and Ron?

Security questions were asked, and while they did that, they had no way to notice the trio appearing in the living room.

Mia stumbled off of M.P Regulus's lap, which was an impressive feat really, considering the hold he had on her. M.P Avery grabbed her before she hit the ground, and she offered him a sheepish, appreciative smile.

"It's nighttime," M.P Regulus muttered softly, grabbing his wand. Mia nodded and stepped in front of him, hand out in front of her. M.P Regulus and M.P Avery stood on each side as they made their way behind her.

"Someone's been here," she whispered, touching the side of a hot teacup. Her eyes raised and she caught the sight of the Order in the yard, wands raised. She rushed out, ignoring the annoyed hisses of her boyfriend and M.P Avery and went out. "What are you all doing- oh, _fuck_. Dumbledore."

The man turned to look at her, his twinkle long gone and replaced with the calculating eyes she knew him for. She scowled.

"Git."

"Mia," M.P Avery scolded.

"Mione," M.P Harry called from behind the crowd, pushing his way over to her. She grabbed his hand and pulled him to her side, M.P Ron following him as well. "Where's my dad?"

"He wasn't with us," she shook her head. "I think he was with Fabian and Gideon."

Slowly, wands were raised at the peculiar words. Mia didn't even notice until M.P Regulus and M.P Avery both put up shields in front of her.

"Do not hurt her," M.P Regulus said loudly. "It will not end well for you."

"Calm down," she rolled her eyes at her overprotective boyfriend. Still, her eyes slid to the suspicious Order and settled back on Dumbledore. Her stomach flipped. "What year is it?"

"It is 1996."

"Ah, fuck," she cursed. "Not again. Once was enough for me."

"It seems we need to take a trip to Grimmauld Place," Dumbledore decided. "All of us. Our answers await us there."

Cautiously, everyone agreed to do so.

Once there, Mia pushed ahead quickly. When they stepped in the hall, Walburga began screaming, and she made a face at the nasty woman.

"I'll still make good on my promise to fucking destroy you," she muttered as she moved past with M.P Regulus and M.P Avery at her side, M.P Harry and M.P Ron just behind her. When they pushed open the kitchen doors, they stopped short at the sight of another set of the trio, as well as A.P Regulus. "Holy shit."

"Who the hell are you?" Alexia asked, surprising herself with the cursing and her irritation. The longer she spent working on her memories, the more she'd felt like a different person, but it still surprised her every time she reacted more like Alexia and less like Hermione.

"Mia Potter, who the hell are you?"

She hesitated. "Um… Alexia Potter."

"Merlin, what did you do?" A.P Harry asked, staring at Alexia. She shot him a glare.

"I don't think this is my fault. Did you go back in time, too?"

"I did."

"Did you make Sirius take a Vow to not die?"

Mia's eyes flared with anger. "No! I would never risk destroying time in such a careless way! I made a blood bond with him instead."

"That's dark magic," Alexia shot back.

"You have no place to talk," A.P Regulus laughed. She shot him a dirty look before her gaze fell on the two behind Mia and she pulled her wand.

"Avery," she said loudly, getting A.P Harry and A.P Ron's attentions. They pulled their wands as well and all pointed them at M.P Avery.

"Don't you fucking touch him," Mia growled. She was stopped from taking a step forward by M.P Regulus, who grabbed her arm gently.

"Perhaps we should assess the situation, Little Lion."

"He helped Dolohov put that spell on James and I," Alexia snapped. "James felt every bit of pain I've ever felt. He's a large part of the reason I can't remember the past six years of my life!"

"Holy shit," Mia cursed, surprised. Her gaze fell on A.P Regulus. "Six years?"

"Her memories are suppressed. She will get them back with time and help."

"Ouch," Mia winced. "Lower your wand. Avery is harmless."

M.P Avery scoffed.

Alexia narrowed her eyes. "Even he doesn't believe you!"

"Avery, do you plan on fucking up her head any more than it apparently already is?" Mia asked, rolling her eyes.

"Of course not."

Mia waved at Alexia as if that were proof and moved in only to stop short at the sight of the forgotten sixteen-year-old trio. "Well, who the hell are _you_?"

"I'm just Hermione," the girl said, annoyed. "I don't understand. You both went to the past?"

"I was James's adopted sister. Fred and I got there in 1976 and left less than a year later," Mia confirmed. "I made a few Death Eater friends."

"Like Avery?"

"Like Avery."

The floo flashed to life again, and everyone in the room raised their wands defensively now, only to see Dumbledore step out, looking somewhat amused.

"It is only us."

"Yeah, great," Mia scoffed, falling into a seat and crossing her arms. "Just what I wanted."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

The Black Sibling Trio

Cassiopeia tapped her foot impatiently in the atrium as she waited for Sirius. She held onto Regulus's arm, ready to drag him back to Amelia's office to collect their brother.

"I will stun you if you attempt to walk back there again," Regulus warned her. She made a face at him and silently cursed their bond. "What has you so impatient? You _want_ to go back to school?"

"I want to get away from any and all questions either of you have for me about yesterday," she raised an eyebrow. "I want to go back and deal with today's DA meetings and see my friends and tell them before Blaise can."

"He's coming," Regulus assured her with a small smile. It amazed him that he found it more difficult to comfort her over a breakup than killing someone. Luckily, Sirius reached them just in time and threw an arm over her shoulder.

"Okay there, kitten?"

"Can we just go?"

"It's as if our sister doesn't even care about us anymore," he complained to Regulus with a laugh. Cassiopeia gasped sharply and doubled over, feeling a painful tug at her core. Both of her brothers grabbed her, and she ignored their words of concern as the pain grew quickly. She let out a shout, but it ended just as she did and she found more than the pain missing.

"Where- where did everyone go?" Cassiopeia asked, straightening. It was dark in the atrium and everyone was missing. "What happened?"

"Let's find Remus and ask him," C.B Sirius decided. "Quickly. He's in Grimmauld Place doing more research."

When C.B Regulus and Cassiopeia both agreed, C.B Sirius gripped onto both of them and Apparated away and into Grimmauld Place's library, which seemed rather empty.

"Odd," he muttered.

Cassiopeia ducked out of the room and took the stairs two at a time. The kitchen light was on, so she slipped in only to stop short at the sight in front of her. "Um… shit."

"Another one?" Mia complained. "We're gonna have to start fucking numbering us."

Cassiopeia tapped into her bond with C.B Regulus to get him downstairs, eyeing the group in front of her. Dumbledore was there, as well as a few others in the Order. "It's concerning to me that I'm less worried about the lot of you and more worried that I can't tap into the bloody wards."

"They transferred to Harry upon Sirius's death," Dumbledore informed her. She shifted uncomfortably.

"Sirius isn't _dead_," she snapped. "Insufferable, maybe, but not dead."

"Why must you always insult me?" C.B Sirius complained, coming to a stop at her side. "Motherfucker."

"Sirius?" both Harry's said together, though the younger one shot to his feet to hug him.

"Hey there, Pup," C.B Sirius said, glancing at Cassiopeia. "What'd you do?"

"_Me_? We're being hunted by Voldemort, Sirius! _I_ just wanted to leave the bloody ministry after the Wizengamot, but _you_ just had to talk to Amelia and now look where we are! You've got a clingy Harry!"

"Okay," C.B Regulus said, rubbing her arm and guiding her further into the kitchen. "I doubt we're here because he spoke with Amelia, Cassie. It's clearly not your fault, either."

"There's three of you," she said, looking around. "And a lot of me. What the hell is happening?"

"The multiverse fucking sucks," Mia spoke up. "Welcome to an alternate universe, kiddo."

"You know, Cas," C.B Sirius spoke up. "I'm not _fond_ of Snape, but at least because of you, he doesn't stare at me like I killed his puppy anymore."

"Alternate Snape," Alexia offered, still clearly unsettled. "He hated you in my universe, too. I think I remember you charming his homework to dance off the table every time he touched it."

"Hater you in mine, too," Mia nodded.

"Ours as well," Hermione agreed, though she was frowning.

"You said we're in another universe," Cassiopeia shook her head. "Does that mean two of you are misplaced, too?"

"Yep."

"Well, how do we fix it?"

"How about introductions?" Tonks suggested. "And maybe a way to tell the difference, because two of you Hermiones have black hair, and that's a little confusing."

"Yeah, why is that?" Hermione wondered.

"I had mine changed when I got to 1971," Alexia answered slowly. "Dumbledore had me change my appearance a bit so that I'd look more like James's twin."

"I naturally look like this," Cassiopeia shrugged. "I'm a Black, we all sort of look like this. It's the inbreeding."

"You're a Black?" Mia's Harry wondered curiously. "How? You were never, you know, Hermione?"

"Um, no," Cassiopeia frowned. "I was Belle Potter. I was adopted by James and Lily from Orion Black when Voldemort wanted to fucking kill me. Orion changed my core so I'd look basically like Lily, so I used to have red hair and green eyes. I've always been Cassiopeia Black or Belle Potter. I _did_ look like you when I went to 1979 and James glamoured me so I could find Regulus. Except for the glowing eyes. What's up with that?"

"Fucked with the sands of time," Mia waved her off. "Feels a bit like touching Horcruxes with your magic repeatedly for months on end. I do not suggest it."

"Horcruxes," Alexia breathed, turning to her friends. "Did we do it? Did we kill them all?"

"Yeah," A.P Ron told her, exchanging a look with A.P Harry. "That's a big thing to forget, Mione."

"Like I said, I've lost around eight years. I can't really control what I remember."

"So you messed with the sands of time," Cassiopeia repeated. "How? Why? Why did they change your eyes? Did anything else change?"

Mia rolled her eyes. "Let's see. How? Fred and I stole a fucking time turner and used that. Why? Because I was trying to find a way to get back to my own time, obviously. I didn't feel like waiting twenty years until it was 1998 again. As for my eyes… we're not sure. I still have to get in touch with the man that can get me answers, but since the war just ended and I've very nearly avoided dying again, I felt like I deserved a break before any more bullshit. Which, apparently, I won't be getting."

"Why didn't you just use the spell that Windela the Lost used?"

"Um, obviously because she aged like five hundred years upon returning."

"And _obviously_, we did not," she said, waving at herself and C.B Regulus. "We traveled nineteen years into the future and didn't age at all."

"Well why did _you_ go to the past?" the H.G Ron asked, confused.

"Dolohov yeeted me into the veil," she said, only lying a little bit. "Sucked. I met James and Lily though, and I got to bring Reg back, so… it could've been worse."

"Can we address the fact that you're siblings wherever their universe is?" M.P Harry asked, chuckling. Mia and M.P Regulus both shot him a glare.

"No. In fact, we're going to pretend that there's no universe in which I'm related to him by blood."

OoOoOoOoOoOo


	3. Chapter 2

**The Happy Harry Trio**

"Harry James Potter!" Lily called, exhaustion coating her tone. James winced from the couch. They'd had a long day in Black Manor with Sirius and Lily was at the end of her rope from the Marauders. The Marauder heir nervously poked his head in the kitchen and she raised an eyebrow at him. "What did I tell you about leaving your sister outside alone?"

"Not to," Harry offered. "But to be fair, she's not alone. She's got Pep out there with her."

"Peppy does not count!" Lily huffed. "That snake cannot protect her like you can!"

"Mum, I can't really protect her much at all," he denied. "No magic outside of school."

"In emergencies you can use it," Lily argued. She turned to James and he hid another wince. He didn't want to be stuck in the way when she got angry.

"She's right, Prongslet," James sighed. "Go grab Daisy and bring her inside."

"She's nearly ten," Harry sighed as he walked to the side door. "Can't she be alone outside while I'm with Ron and Hermione?"

"You know she's scared of being alone with your snake," Lily told him with a displeased frown.

"Fine," Harry huffed in a very teenagerish manner. He retrieved his little sister and snake and quickly made his way up to his room, stomping the whole way. James rolled his eyes at his son and relaxed into his chair as Daisy grabbed a book and plopped herself onto his lap.

It was only a few minutes later when a bright light flashed through the house.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"Something isn't right," H.G Harry whispered to himself as the chaos commenced. The Order was finally continuing to filter into the suddenly much too small kitchen, and he felt a terrible pain in what he knew to be his core. "Something is wrong- ah!"

"Harry?" Remus asked, appearing at his side. "What is it?"

"My core, it _hurts_, like it's straining, something else is there…"

"I know what that is," Bill called. "Wards. If he's in charge of wards that he's unaware of, it'll cause pain if someone trespassed on them."

"But he'd be in charge of the wards for all Potter property," Remus said warily. "Not to mention whatever Sirius left him."

"So, we'll have to split up."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

**The Snape Trio**

"I mean it, Harry, I'm not going to do it."

"Please!" Harry begged, following Adelaide through the garden to where Avery sat with Fabian. Gideon, she knew, was at the Ministry arguing with Kingsley over their training once more. It had been discovered that there had been enough changes that the twins would have to go through three months of rushed training before they could act as Hit Wizards for the Ministry. For simple Auror training, it was two months.

"I said no," she glared, sitting between her friends. "Ask Sirius to do it."

"But I want to do it _for_ Sirius!" he reasoned, pacing in front of the three of them.

"Then ask Regulus!"

"What's up, Pip?" Fabian wondered, letting her rest her head on his shoulder. She reached out for Avery's hand, which he offered easily.

"This prat wants my help to clean out Grimmauld Place and redecorate it. That includes getting rid of Walburga's terrible portrait, too. Really, Harry, I have no clue how you expect me to be able to do that. If Sirius couldn't, how could I?"

"I could try," Avery said thoughtfully. Adelaide shot him with a look.

"We're not trying to _help_ him, Avery! I liked Sirius's idea of destroying it."

"Clearly, your husband did not," her friend pointed out. She stuck her tongue out at him like the adult she was, pausing only when a pain engulfed all of them and only ended with a bright flash.

"_Fuck_," Adelaide cursed loudly, grabbing her head in her hands. "What the…?"

"It's dark," Fabian muttered. "Check the wards."

Adelaide and Harry ran to the edge of the wards and were pleased to see that they were fine. They returned to their friends and both shook their heads.

"What happened?" Fabian wondered, frowning around. The house was dark and seemed empty. The lawn, which had been full of the large group of friends and family, was also empty.

Adelaide raised her wand and cast the spell she'd cast at least three times upon returning to her rightful time, just to make sure it was real.

_02:00, December 23rd, 1996_

"Oh, fuck."

"Where do you think we are?" she asked, mostly to herself.

"Where were we back then?" A.S Harry wondered with a frown. "Merlin, we're in the past!"

"We would've been here," Adelaide answered. "Or… maybe Grimmauld Place?"

"No, we didn't go back."

Adelaide shrugged, dropping the spell. "We might as well check. Next we can try Hogwarts, I'd guess. But we need to be careful. Awful things happen to wizards who mess with time."

Everyone just stared at her.

"I may not be the best example of that."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Hermione rubbed her temples. Alexia and Mia were arguing again over the irresponsible actions they'd both done, and she truthfully just wanted to hex them both. Was she going to turn into that? At least Cassiopeia was calmly speaking to her family. It was a bit of an intimidating sight if she were being honest.

"This is mad," H.G Ron whispered. "How d'you suppose they'll sort it all out?"

"No clue," H.G Harry sighed before turning to Hermione. "Do you think you'll end up going to the past?"

She met his eyes, trying to answer the question she'd been going over since they'd gotten there. "It's possible, but it's also possible I won't. As they said, we live in an infinite multiverse. There's a chance that we live in the one where I never go back. Or we live in one where I do go back and become one of them, but with a slightly different life. Truthfully, it's impossible to know until we get there."

"Oh."

"I'm sorry. If I could, I'd go back and save him for you," she promised softly.

The floo flared to life and wands were raised again, this time to point at the new intruders. First through came A.S Harry, and then Hermione with straight black hair, and then A.S Avery and a man with orange hair that looked a bit like Molly, just taller and thinner.

"More," one of the girls - Mia - complained.

The new girl froze in the fireplace, her face filled with fear. "I need to- Avery, we have to _leave_."

"Why?" he asked, immediately ready to fight. "What is it?"

"He's here," she told him. "He's here, I can feel him- _why can I feel him_?"

"Take a deep breath," M.P Regulus coached, unable to bear the complete terror in her eyes. She met his and did as he said, trying to calm down. "Who is here?"

"Dolohov."

And boy, did that change the mood of the room.

Some were terrified, some were confused, and some were angry. There were differing levels of understanding, but one thing that was clear was that no one was happy with the news.

"You can… feel him?" Mia whispered, stepping closer to her alternate self. Adelaide nodded quietly.

"Why?" Alexia asked her, also moving closer. "What did he do? Was it-,"

"It was a curse," Adelaide whispered. "He cursed me… he's here. Close."

"Where?" C.B Sirius asked her, eyeing Cassiopeia, who had also begun to move over to Adelaide.

While all the Order members had left to find whoever had trespassed on Potter property, Hermione had an answer for that.

"There's a prisoner in the basement," she told them. "They told us not to go down there, but Fred and George figured it out when they came over."

"It feels… weird," Adelaide told her friends. "Something is… off… he doesn't have his wand?"

"I feel like he probably won't be a prisoner if he did," H.G Ron said, rolling his eyes at her.

"Let me," Cassiopeia said, eyeing H.G Harry. "I need the wards."

"Uh… okay?"

"You need to tell your magic I can use them," she explained patiently. He closed his eyes and despite looking quite frustrated, she felt the full power of Grimmauld Place's wards shifted to her. With a small nod, she turned and focused every ward in the house - excluding the outer wards keeping Grimmauld Place invisible - on the door. It created such a thickly concentrated layer of magic that it became visible and actually pushed A.S Fabian away from the door a little.

"Holy shit," A.S Fabian cursed, stepping away quickly. "That hurts."

"The majority of these wards are actually dark magic," she told them, relaxing. "I knew you were there, so I was waiting for you to move before I fully set the wards there. They'd have killed you if you touched it and they'll kill Dolohov if he tries to leave the basement."

"..._Merlin_."

"Perhaps we should talk," M.P Regulus said gently. Adelaide met his gaze again and nodded quietly. "You are bonded with my other self?"

"I am," she confirmed. Cassiopeia made a face at her but said nothing. "We've recently gotten married, too."

"You bonded before courting?" A.P Regulus asked in surprise.

"It was a long story," she admitted. "Draco accidentally hit me with a really bad dark curse and it was either him or Sirius that could heal it, and apparently Sirius isn't good under pressure."

"I am fine under pressure!" C.B Sirius exclaimed. C.B Regulus and Cassiopeia stared at him. "Wow, I'm not feeling very supported here. I healed your leg under pressure!"

"The only threat that night was Dementors and you clearly weren't afraid of them," she scoffed.

"Can we get back to Dolohov?" Hermione called, looking to her other selves. All of them tensed and her gut clenched. "What did he do that's so bad?"

"He killed me."

Everyone looked at Mia.

"_What_?" A.P Harry asked.

"Yep," she nodded tightly. "I was captured during a raid after Regulus and I…" she shook her head. It was still a sore spot for all involved, which happened to be both of the boys that had been pulled with her. "It doesn't matter. I was captured by Dolohov and Rabastan and taken to Voldemort, who tortured me-,"

"Me too," Adelaide called before pausing. "Sort of."

"And me," Alexia said quietly, certain that her torture from Dolohov during the war was because of Voldemort.

"Me too," Cassiopeia muttered, glancing at C.B Regulus.

"And then he gave me to Dolohov so he could kill me. And he did."

It was H.G Ron that spoke up. "But how are you here then?"

"That blood bond," Hermione said, gathering their attention again. "Sirius brought you back?"

"He did," Mia nodded approvingly. "I made it so I could bring him back, but it went both ways, so when Regulus nearly died and they knew I'd died, he went to the ministry and brought me back."

"Well, why did he nearly die?" H.G Ron questioned her.

"Because we're bonded," she said, rolling her eyes. "Our cores are bonded. Which means that when I die, it tears up our bond. It was so painful for him because our bond is so strong, and it nearly killed him. Also, the Sectumsempra didn't help."

"What?" H.G Harry asked sharply, his eyes moving to M.P Regulus.

"In the end," Regulus said slowly. The subject was painful for him to remember, something no one would blame him for. "Dolohov decided to use Sectumsempra to kill her because he'd tried using it before and she survived."

"Probably got a good amount of blood on those books though," Mia muttered, trying to make light of the traumas in her life because, really, how else was she going to cope?

"Like a healthy person, if you listen to me."

"Oh my god," Mia glared, throwing her head back. "As if this isn't all confusing enough."

"Deep breath," M.P Regulus coached her, grabbing her hand. She took it gratefully and closed her eyes.

"Oh, I haven't seen me look like that in so long," Mia's core said to Hermione, who looked like she had a very big headache.

H.G Harry got up from his seat quietly and made his way over to C.B Sirius, who was watching the commotion, bemused. "Sirius?"

"What's up, Pup?" he asked before pausing. "Alternate Pup, I guess."

H.G Harry was unsure how to phrase his words so instead, he threw himself into C.B Sirius's arms again and hugged him tight. C.B Sirius hugged back, looking to Hermione and H.G Ron to help him understand.

"You died six months ago," Hermione said gently.

"Oh," he breathed, rubbing H.G Harry's back and suddenly feeling very, very bad. He knew there was nothing he could say to make up for the loss, but he decided firmly to take H.G Harry aside and share whatever bullshit wisdom he could come up with before leaving.

"We're back," a voice called, opening the front door. It was Bill and Charlie who walked quietly through the hall, entering the kitchen nervously. "We've got some more- _Uncle Fabian_?"

"Hey, kid," C.B Fabian smiled at Bill and Charlie's confused looks.

"Shit," Charlie said, throwing his head back.

"I'm Adelaide," the girl introduced. "Clearly, you know Fab, and this is Avery. Also, Harry, I guess."

"Wow, thanks."

"Yes, well," Charlie grinned at the room. He couldn't get over how ridiculous this was. "We present you even more!"

They opened the door again and H.H Harry, H.H Hermione, and H.H Ron entered together, looking very confused.

A few people groaned at the sight.

"What's so different about them?" H.G Harry asked from next to Sirius.

"I don't know, what's different about you?" his other self shot back.

"Harry here was raised by his parents."

Every other Harry deflated a little.

"This just got depressing," Mia muttered, gathering a few stares.

"Because you dying and bloody Dolohov _wasn't_?" H.G Ron asked her. She shrugged.

"Fair point. That fuckin sucked."

"I have an idea!" Charlie declared with a goofy grin.

"We're going to color code you," Bill laughed with his brother. "Each Hermione - because there's the biggest variation of you - pick a color and charm you and your friends' clothes that color."

The next few minutes were, to everyone's amusement, spent fighting over colors and charming their clothes. In the end, they'd managed to settle on colors.

Alexia's group was pink, Adelaide's was green, Mia's was purple, Cassiopeia's was black, Hermione's was gold, and H.H Hermione's was blue.

It didn't do much to cut down on the confusion if they were being honest.

"I'm just saying," Mia huffed, crossing her arms as she spoke with Alexia, whose hand was slowly sneaking down her dress toward her daggers. "There were other options!"

"I did what I could in a short time!" Alexia snapped back, slipping straight back into their argument. "And what you did fucked you up!"

"_Alexia_," A.P Regulus said sharply, grabbing her by her wrists before she could get her daggers. "You are not stabbing your alternate self."

Alexia glanced down in surprise. "Oh."

The uneasy feeling was still bothering Adelaide and she looked away from the argument and over at Bill and Charlie, the only members of the Order to return so far. "Hey, guys?"

Bill glanced at her green shirt before looking back at her. "Yeah, Adelaide?"

"Why is Dolohov here? Can he like… be moved?"

Charlie shrugged. "He was caught doing something or the other. He's here for questioning. That's what the Order meeting was for, actually, to decide if it was a good idea to move him or if we need him still."

"I can kill him if you'd like," C.B Sirius offered. It sounded like a joke, but more than a few in the room knew it wasn't and more than a few in the room were open to the suggestion.

"No, thanks," Bill let out an uneasy laugh before looking back to Adelaide's frightened face. "What's wrong?"

"Bad history," Mia offered. "He killed me once."

"He's in my head," Adelaide said softly. "It hurts enough that I can't feel my Regulus, but now it's like he's… trying to take over."

"Idea," A.S Fabian said suddenly, looking to her. "Make one of those nifty hair things and send us back."

She made a face at him. "I was gone for months trying to perfect it and I only ever managed to do it with Alphard and Aberforth's help. I got Imperiused for it, remember?"

"I know how to throw that off," Hermione called, not to brag but rather ask why she couldn't.

"Yes, as do I," she replied, shivering. "But it was Dolohov who…" she shook her head. "It was the bond he forced."

"I'm not sure what we can do about him," Bill admitted. "There's nowhere else we can put him."

"But there's somewhere else we can go," Alexia said with a sigh.

"Where's that?"

"Potter Manor."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

There had been a sharp argument between Alexia and Mia once more as they tried to decide who would open up the wards. H.G Harry was an option, of course, and there were plenty of him but he was being tracked by a plethora of people and if he stepped outside wards, it could be dangerous.

But no one knew Alexia or Mia.

In the end, they'd snapped at each other until C.B Sirius had dragged them both out of the house and apparated them there.

Once they landed, Alexia smacked his arm and Mia glared daggers at him.

"Merlin, you two do not get along," C.B Sirius laughed. "You need two people with recognized Potter magic to open the wards. Three is better."

Without speaking, Alexia reached down and grabbed her daggers. She handed one to C.B Sirius and used the other to roll up her sleeve and slice her arm open, shoving it into the wards.

"Merlin," C.B Sirius muttered as he did the same. "We found out Cassie was adopted by opening up Potter Manor, you know. She stuck her arm into the wards, because she was supposed to be a Potter, and they tried to kill her."

"Very comforting to tell us while our arms are being held captive by the damn wards," Mia muttered, making a face at him.

All three sighed in relief when the wards fell moments later, revealing the beautiful and well kept Potter Manor. "Well, it's as beautiful here as it is in my universe. I wonder why Sirius - the other Sirius, I guess, from this universe - never took Harry to open it," Mia said.

C.B Sirius shrugged. "I took them here as soon as I was able."

Alexia didn't respond to their conversation and only walked ahead, tense as she made her way into Potter Manor without them.

"I can't imagine just… losing my memories of my time in the past," Mia told C.B Sirius. "I can't imagine… being stuck there and not knowing."

"I can't imagine Cassie spending more than three days in the past," C.B Sirius replied tiredly. "How long were you there?"

"Ah… less than a year," she replied with a shrug. "But she and Regulus said she's been there for like six years."

"Shit."

Mia sighed and walked ahead. As much as Alexia got on her nerves, she felt bad for the girl, too. When she reached the now open front door, she caught sight of a Potter elf, Mipsy, glaring deeply at Alexia and waving a lamp at her wildly.

"-different universe, Mipsy," Alexia was saying tiredly. "I know you don't recognize us now, but we have Potter magic and have been adopted by them. Please, put the lamp down."

"Mipsy," Sirius called, hoping she'd recognize him. "Hey there. That's my friend. Can you not threaten her, please?"

"Master Sirius!" Mipsy cried, throwing the lamp away and jumping at the man to hug him. Mia rolled her eyes and walked over to the greeting room and switched on the floo while Alexia sent a Patronus over to Grimmauld Place asking them all to come over now.

"Hey, Mipsy, we've got a lot of friends coming over in a second. Can you set up tables and chairs and some snacks in the ballroom for us?"

"Mipsy be doing that now!" the elf confirmed happily and popped away to tell the other elves to get it done quick.

"Merlin, that elf is scary in any universe," Mia muttered, remembering how the elf had bullied her into letting her do things for her.

"She spies on us, too," Alexia said softly, remembering some piece of a memory. "At the ball, I think."

"You guys have balls, too?" Mia wondered curiously. "It didn't go well for me."

Alexia shook her head. "The curse Dolohov hit me with, he cast it at the second ball I was there for."

"Yeah, what's up with that? Why'd he attack you guys exactly? Why's he hate you?"

"Uh, he slapped my ass so I slapped his face," Mia offered. "Oh, and I stunned and hexed him and Rabastan when they tried to attack Mary. He's hated me ever since."

"I was told that I helped Regulus dose him with a babbling beverage," Alexia said with a small sigh. "And I got detention for it despite the fact that it shouldn't have been tracked back to me. He shoved me down some stairs for it. The next time I saw him was at the ball, I think."

"Why're you frowning like that?" C.B Sirius wondered, poking her head. She swatted his hand away, rolling her eyes.

"Some of my memories are… close to being loose, and sometimes they just fall loose if I try hard enough. Alphard told me not to worry about it and that we'll get to it in our sessions, but clearly it's become a bit more important. I've been remembering a lot about Dolohov since we got here."

"You have?"

Alexia jumped in surprise at the sight of A.P Regulus wandering into the room behind Mipsy. "I vaguely remember him tossing me off a balcony?"

"_What_?"

She winced. "So I didn't tell you about that?" At his stare, she shrugged. "I think he was trying to save me? Someone had their wand pointed at me. I just bounced when I hit the ground, too."

"Oh, Merlin," he breathed as he reached her side. Mia had rushed away, likely to find her friends. "That was a prank you pulled with our brothers and your friends. The entire castle and some of the grounds turned into a sort of trampoline."

"It looks like we're all here," Charlie called when the last group - the golden trio - entered the room. "This place is fuckin cool, by the way. Who needs a ballroom?"

"The Potters threw balls every year," Adelaide explained. "New Years' Balls. I, for one, fucking hate this room."

"I'm so glad to hear we all suffer in such similar ways," Mia called bitterly.

"What will the Order think when we're not all there?" Alexia wondered, asking Bill. The man looked to her and shrugged.

"I left a note."

Mia's lips twitched. "Your mum is going to kill you."

"Probably."

"Mipsy be done!" the elf said, popping in to tell C.B Sirius. "Mipsy also color coded the tables like you asked!"

"Right, thank you. I think that'll be all for now," C.B Sirius said, smiling down at the giddy elf. When she popped out again, everyone looked to him, and he threw his hands up. "No, I think someone else should do this. Bill and Charlie. They haven't been zapped to the wrong universe."

"Can do," Bill agreed easily, used to often being in charge as a curse breaker. Charlie was not, as he was still working hard to progress in his job. Quickly, everyone moved to the other side of the ballroom where the tables were placed and took their seats.

"Okay," Bill called. "So, here's what we know." He pointed at the nearest table to him, which was pink. "You left 1998 immediately when the war ended, sent back in time by Snape, and you were pulled out of your time in the 70s to come here, along with Regulus. Harry and Ron were in their correct time in 1998."

"Right," Harry agreed, glancing at Alexia. "Right?"

"Yes, that's right."

"And you," Charlie said, pointing to the green table. "Got sent back in time by… what was it?"

"A prank," she scowled. "From your idiot brothers, _on Harry's birthday_."

"Right," Charlie said, his lips twitching in laughter. "And you became a Snape, lived your life there, and returned to the future with Regulus and… anyone else?"

"Yes. Your uncles, Fabian and Gideon, and my Avery."

"Wow," Mia said. "That's pretty close to who I brought back, too."

"Draco was also in the past with me," Adelaide added. She hadn't spoken much about her life, still unsettled by Dolohov in her mind. It was better now that they'd left Grimmauld Place, something she could only be thankful for. "But he left before I did because the war was too much for him to go through again."

"Anything else?"

She shrugged. How could she know what was different? "Don't think so."

Bill turned to the red table, moving on. "And you grew up with your parents and have a little sister, and Regulus destroyed the horcruxes and your parents killed Voldemort?"

"Yep," Harry nodded. He was clearly the happier and more sheltered version of the boy, compared to all the others in the room who looked just… extremely angsty.

"You grew up a Potter and… didn't explain much else," Charlie shrugged, pointing at the black table. "What happened there?"

"Cassie got into politics _immediately_," C.B Harry rolled his eyes.

"Lord Greengrass and I worked on getting the Potter House back because Dumbledore was controlling it and he's…" Cassiopeia shook her head. "Third year, I found Sirius and we got him pardoned. He got custody of Harry and then me after we figured out who I was. During a Wizengamot session, I took a walk because those people fight a _lot_ and it's exhausting. Long story short, I ended up in the Veil room, Dolohov followed me, we fought, and I fell into the Veil and landed in 1979. I decided to find Regulus and… Voldemort, upon realizing who I am despite being glamoured, made Reg torture me for a few days. Dolohov hurt me pretty bad… during those days while Regulus was gone. Eventually, I threw off the glamour, Reg recognized me, and we got back to the future. Voldemort just really wants all three of us dead now."

"Well, shit," Charlie blinked a few times. "Damn."

"Yeah, that's sort of how we feel about it, too."

"And you," Bill pointed at the purple table. "Got… I don't actually know. What happened to you?"

"After Malfoy Manor," Mia said softly. "I was finally allowed to-,"

"Hold on, what's Malfoy Manor?" Charlie asked her. She shot him a dark glare, as well as Adelaide, who had also gone through it. "Sorry, we just need to know everything."

"Fine," she scowled, Regulus tracing patterns on her hand to help her calm down. "It was war. We were captured by Death Eaters and taken to Malfoy Manor to be questioned and turned over to Voldemort, but Bellatrix saw something that a Snatcher - special Death Eaters for capturing people - holding something from my bag and decided to torture me, without a break, for hours on end. I almost died."

"Oh my god," Alexia breathed, glancing to A.P Harry. "Did that… is that what happened to me? When Dolohov tortured me?"

"Yeah," he confirmed with a wince. "Sorry."

"Is that going to happen to me?" Hermione asked softly.

"It might," Adelaide admitted. "It happened to all of us."

Hermione didn't respond and only paled.

"What sent you to the past?" Bill asked, trying to gently put them back on track.

"When you finally let me go downstairs after about a week or so of taking care of me," she said, remembering how serious he'd been about keeping her in bed. "I was sitting next to Fred, who was visiting. He and Harry were playing exploding snap, and I think he lost. We're still not… exactly sure what happened there, he won't really tell me, but I'm fairly certain it was completely his fault. He grabbed onto me and it blew up as it does, and it broke the time turner around my neck and sent us both to 1976. We were taken in by the Potters and stayed there with some difficulties-,"

M.P Regulus snorted indelicately.

"-until we finally managed to finish the spell I was using to make sort of timekeys, which are like portkeys but that also move you through time, and that's why my eyes are golden."

Bill stared at her. "Regulus seems to think you're leaving things out."

She shot her boyfriend a glare and then turned it on Bill. "You haven't asked any of them how they suffered in the past, why should you ask me?"

"It might be important to see the differences and similarities between the universes."

She had to admit he had a point.

"Fine. Dolohov was obsessed with me. He tried to slap my ass, so I slapped him, and he did not like that. I came up with - or actually, Fred did, sort of. I give credit to him because I was too thick to realize it could help us too - it was a way to get us and anyone else we could save to the future by using a very difficult method to move sands of time to rings and turn them into timekeys. Thus the eyes. I really do not suggest it. I set a few things on fire while doing that."

"She almost set me on fire," M.P Avery added, remembering the one time he'd come to observe and had promptly left under threat of turning into a pile of ashes.

"The Horcrux thing," Alexia realized, prompting Mia to nod, though she rolled her eyes at the other girl.

"Then it was found out that I'm a Legendary - super strong, has to fight lots of Dark Lords - after Bellatrix fuckin tortured me in a goddamn bookstore. Later, Reg and I had a fight and I was angry so I got rid of how he could track me and went to Diagon Alley. There was a raid, so I started fighting and called for backup, but during the raid, I was captured by Dolohov and Rabastan and taken to Voldemort, who had been looking for me, and killed."

"Why was he looking for you?"

She made a face. "Because I was absolute shit at keeping my secret a secret. One of my Death Eaters, Dodd, recognized the signs of working with the sands of time because his father had done it, and he told me to be careful. Then Voldemort looked into his head without warning and found out what I was doing. I resisted him as long as I could, but…" she shivered as her breath hitched. "In the end he just had me killed. Sirius brought me back with our blood bond. I tried to hex him, I finished the rings, the end."

"She also killed Voldemort," M.P Regulus added.

There was silence for a second.

"Well, fuck, I haven't done that," Adelaide said with a small laugh.

OoOoOoOoOoOo


	4. Chapter 3

**The Founders Trio**

"Leave me alone," Hermione muttered, following Harry down the stairs with Sirius behind her. "I'm not in the mood."

"What if you get possessed and try to chuck them at me?" Sirius tried. She looked back at him in disbelief.

"I'm not throwing my daggers at you!"

"If you do, he might shut up," Harry snorted as the small group walked into the kitchen where Salazar raised an eyebrow at him. "Well I'm not wrong, am I?"

"Depends how accurately she throws it," Godric said conversationally. "Considering how well she handles them, I believe she could certainly kill Sirius if she tried."

"...and on that note," Remus said with a cough to cover his laugh. "Molly's invited us all over for dinner at the Burrow. I told her we'd go."

Harry made a face at Remus. "I just changed into my pajamas, Moony."

"Go on," Salazar said, waving him back out of the room. Hermione turned on her heel to glare at Sirius.

"Fine! But if I hit you, it's your own damn fault."

"Yes!" He grinned. He grabbed her by her shoulders and led her out of the kitchen and down the hall to the door to the ballroom, which they'd decided to use as a training area. Once they stood across from each other, she grabbed her daggers and eyed him.

"You're sure you want to do this? These are enchanted, Sirius. I could hurt you."

"Nah, you won't hurt me," he waved her off, his wand at the ready. "Go on, kitten."

Hermione let out a sigh and looked at him thoughtfully. When she threw her first dagger, she purposely missed and watched it dig into the floor next to him. While he spared a glance at it, she chucked the second dagger and watched it hit his shoulder. He let out a shout, and she rushed over and grabbed his arm to look at it. "I told- ah- _ow_!"

The two disappeared in a flash of light and reappeared in the middle of the ballroom once more, this time without practice dummies and more people around.

The noise around them died down for a moment before at least four people let out groans of exhaustion.

"This is going to hurt," F. Hermione told F. Sirius. He nodded sharply, looking around the room. When she ripped the dagger out of his arm, he let out a yelp.

"Hey!"

"I warned you," she muttered, wiping his blood on her shirt and glancing down at her sheaths. "My other dagger is missing… it should've come back to me."

"Uh, kitten, take a look," F. Sirius suggested. When she glanced up, she was surprised to find his wand still out and pointed at…

"Um," F. Hermione frowned. "What?"

"More!" an older girl complained loudly. "And did you bloody stab Sirius?"

"What? No!" F. Hermione paused. "Well, yes, but he asked me to!"

"I thought I'd be able to block it!"

Charlie and Bill exchanged a glance.

"You can be red," Bill suggested, charming their robes red. "Let's talk."

"Ha! There's another one of me, too!" F. Sirius grinned, waving at his alternate self, who grinned right back.

"I knew I was attractive, but _damn_."

Cassiopeia made a face at her brother. "Shut up. Are you trying to flirt with yourself?"

"Who wouldn't?"

"Us!" she exclaimed, waving at all the alternate versions of herself. "Clearly!"

"Hermione- _oh shit_," F. Harry said, stopping short when he went to run into the room with F. Salazar behind him. "What did you _do_?"

"This isn't my fault!" F. Hermione exclaimed, offended. "It was _your_ duel with Draco that sent us to the past. Why would _this_ be my fault?"

"It is neither of your faults," F. Salazar told them, gently pushing F. Harry out of the way and walking into the room, looking around. "Hermione, you know of the multiverse?"

F. Hermione grabbed onto F. Sirius when she understood what he was suggesting. "How will we get home?"

"Yeah, thanks, I'll heal myself," F. Sirius muttered, waving his wand at his shoulder. "Doesn't hurt at all, definitely not."

"We're working on that," Bill assured her, waving his wand at F. Harry and F. Salazar to charm their clothes as well. "Why don't all of you take a seat and we'll get to you, yeah?"

"What have you been doing?" F. Sirius wondered, glancing around that the variety of people. "Jesus, there's a shit ton of my brother here. I'd like to find a universe where he isn't here."

"You know," C.B Regulus rolled his eyes. "I'd be offended, but I already knew you were immature enough to avoid me in life and death alike."

C.B Sirius frowned. "Hey, I don't avoid you."

"You did for the first night I was back and part of the next day. I'd say without Cassie, you would've continued to do so."

"I would like to know what's happening here and what you know already," F. Salazar requested, gaining a few stares.

"Is that fucking Salazar Slytherin?" Mia asked, letting out an incredulous laugh. "What the fuck is happening anymore?"

"Please sit," Bill requested tiredly. Luckily, the group did as he asked. He gave them a quick recap of everything that had been covered so far and waved at them. "So, Hermione, what's your life been like? Time travel? Anything significant happen? Shitty interactions with Dolohov?"

F. Hermione glanced at F. Sirius anxiously. "But Harry doesn't know."

"I highly doubt the curse has anything to do with where we are," Salazar assured her. "That will only affect you and him."

"We still need to know, I'm sorry," Charlie shrugged.

"If I had to tell them that he killed me, you can tell them whatever shit he did to you," Mia said, making a face at her.

"She doesn't have to tell you people anything," F. Sirius snapped, glaring at Mia, who blinked in surprise. She wasn't used to his anger being directed at her.

"It's okay," F. Hermione assured him. "But you might have to help me."

"Dolohov carried out the _Anima Coniungere_ curse on Hermione," Salazar announced for her. It registered on a few people, mostly each Regulus, both Averys, Fabian, Adelaide, and Bill. "It is recent."

"We did go to the past," F. Hermione added. "We got sent back eight hundred years until we spent some time with the Founders and they came back with us. Nothing much happened there. Nothing that could cause… this."

"_Fuck_," A.P Regulus cursed loudly, throwing his head back in frustration. "Is this all about Alexia? Her alternate selves and Dolohov?"

"It's starting to look like it," Bill admitted, eyeing Alexia. "You never clarified much on Dolohov."

"It's not important," she shrugged.

"It sort of seems like it is."

Alexia bit her lip and glanced at Regulus. "It's… complicated. At first, he really hated me. I sort of remember him trying to kill me once? I think Lucius saved me. But I also have memories of him… helping me. He saved me from Rowle when he tried to attack me, and he helped me when someone else tried to kill me, and… we're related."

"_What_?" A.P Regulus asked, confused. "How? You never- you didn't tell me about this."

"I think I only told Lucius," she admitted quietly. "But yesterday, Alphard and I uncovered this memory where Dolohov explained it all to me, Regulus. Everything he's done, helping me, it's because we're related and the Patriarch told him to stop hurting me, to protect me and get close to me."

"And it's working," A.P Regulus commented, closing his eyes tightly. "It's working, Alexia, you trust him."

"I never said that!"

"But you do!" he shot back. "Otherwise you wouldn't have stood there with him for the five minutes it took me to get to you the night Rowle attacked and you wouldn't have felt safe enough dragging him out of your introduction and you would've _felt_ unsafe when speaking him to you the day you lost your memories! You trust him, Alexia!"

"Well, fuck," Adelaide muttered, dropping her head on her arm. "That's great, he attacks all of us, tries to kill us, hurts us so fucking badly, and one of us actually trusts him."

"Just as there are alternates of all of us, there are alternates of him," F. Salazar pointed out. "It's possible he is different in her universe."

"He literally tried to kill her! Only stopped because his stupid fucking pureblood daddy told him to knock it off," Mia scowled. "I knew there was a fucking reason I hated her."

"It's not my fault he didn't actually kill me," Alexia snapped angrily. "I obviously got lucky! You did not, and I'm so sorry for that, but I can't control what I've gone through, I can only try to stay safe! If Lucius can't even do that, then I have to rely on Dolohov, don't I?"

"How do you remember that?" A.P Regulus asked, frowning at her. "You didn't remember that at the party. You remember it now?"

Alexia paused to frown at herself. "I… don't know. I didn't even realize I was saying it."

"From what little you've said, I have a few thoughts on your amnesia," F. Salazar told Alexia. "It seems you've encountered the only known alternative to mind healing once you reach the state you're in."

"What's that?" A.P Harry wondered.

"If she gets just as upset or even more upset than she was when this… episode was triggered, some memories may begin to slip out. Think of it like they are being squeezed out from under what is holding them back. Too much pressure, not enough space."

"So you're saying she got so pissed she remembered?" A.P Ron snorted. "Sounds like Mione."

"I don't understand," F. Hermione said, gathering attention again. "You think this has to do with Dolohov? What could he have done to… send us all here?"

"Ah," Bill shrugged sheepishly. "No clue."

"Great."

"How about we take a break?" Charlie suggested. "We'll go let the Order know what's going on and you guys can… um, mingle, I guess. You're color coded, it'll be fine."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Cassiopeia dropped herself down on the bed in the room that, in her universe, was hers. The last thing she needed that day was to be thrown into a different universe. After the Wizengamot spent four hours arguing whether or not Veela were human-like people with the ability to make logical, complicated thoughts and decisions, she'd wanted to scream.

"They're just trying to restrict the rights of Fleur's clan," C.B Regulus told her tiredly. "It's an attempt to keep them from assisting us in this war."

"I _know_ that," Cassiopeia made a face at the ceiling as he came to sit next to her on the bed. "It's still fucking shitty, Reg. Fleur is one of the smartest women I know and they spent so long arguing that she's basically an animal? I'm _furious_."

"Maybe you should skip some of the next sessions," he suggested, unsurprised by the irritation sent his way. "Stop it, Cas. I'm not doubting your ability to handle the sessions, or the alliance, or the senior and junior DA, or your classes, or the Death Eaters at Hogwarts, or your private meetings with Severus, or Dumbledore's hatred of our family, but you have to admit all of that together is a lot to deal with."

Cassiopeia glared at the ceiling angrily. It _was_ a lot. She was tired of dealing with everything, that was true. But she was more afraid of dropping something and missing important things. If she hadn't gone to the Wizengamot session that day, it wouldn't have been the end of the world, sure, but it was important to her to know what idiotic propaganda they were pushing.

"Propaganda suggests that anyone outside of the Wizengamot heard our arguments," C.B Regulus pointed out. "And you know we would tell you what they're saying, Cassie. Missing today's session wouldn't have left you any less in the know than you are now."

"She didn't even say anything!"

Cassiopeia and C.B Regulus pulled their wands and aimed them at the door.

"It's just us!" F. Hermione said, putting her hands up. "I wanted a moment of quiet and Sirius followed me, but I guess this room is full."

"She wasn't speaking," F. Sirius repeated curiously. "Were you just talking _at_ her? I don't think any version of Hermione would appreciate that."

"We're bonded," Cassiopeia told him softly. "Blood bound fealty bond. But you're right, if he just talked at me like you do, I'd probably punch him."

"Which means it's a good thing that I'm her favorite brother," C.B Regulus said with a smirk. Cassiopeia rolled her eyes at him and watched as F. Sirius, despite not being their Sirius, got offended.

"Hey, I'm great! I'm sure I'm her favorite brother."

"Sirius, you're not related to them," F. Hermione said with a small laugh.

"Well am I at least _your_ favorite?" he wondered with a pout. She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Between you and Regulus, who is dead in our universe? I'd say probably, yes."

"So what exactly is… going on here?" Cassiopeia wondered, pulling herself into a sitting position finally. "What's with you two?"

"Oh, Sirius magically adopted me," F. Hermione explained. "Because the war is starting, my parents needed to get out of danger, and I'd be safer as a Black."

Cassiopeia snorted. "More recognized? Sure. They'd probably notice your death. Safer as a Black with Sirius running the family? Fuck no. None of us are safe during this war."

"She's in a bit of a mood," C.B Regulus informed them with a sigh. "She has a lot on her plate."

"How?" F. Sirius asked in confusion. "She's in school."

"I've got junior and senior DA," Cassiopeia began, making a face at him. "I have my friends, most of whom are wanted by Voldemort, plus the fact that me and my brothers are some top targets of Voldemort, who is sending the people I'm most afraid of after us just to fuck with me, there's the Wizengamot being fucking assholes, there's Lucius out there _somewhere_, plus my boyfriend and I just broke up because someone Imperiused my best friend into kissing me and apparently, he's my soulmate. On top of all of that, I get to run my family with Regulus and Sirius, which means making sure Draco doesn't do dumb shit like sneak firewhiskey into the castle and get so drunk he tries to curse Dumbledore. _Again_."

"...Merlin, okay."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Alexia stepped into the bedroom with a sigh, carrying the sundress that an elf had given her with her. She was exhausted with wearing the somewhat tight dress Dorea had picked out for her and had been probably ever since putting it on. It took her some time to get out of it, and when she did, she hung it carefully in the closet.

After dressing again, she sat down in front of the vanity and stared at her hair. It felt like forever ago that the Prewett twins had helped her with her hair, and she poked it lightly, wincing when it didn't move at all. She quickly set into attempting to dig the bobby pins out of the hairdo. She was getting increasingly frustrated by the time that someone else walked into the room five minutes later. She looked at them through the mirror, tensing.

"Adelaide asked me to stay," A.S Avery told her conversationally. "When we got to the future."

"Here?" Alexia asked, not moving her gaze from him. He nodded and leaned against the wall nearby. "My room was occupied with two other versions of me, another Regulus, and another Sirius."

"Having trouble?" he wondered, nodding at her hair. She just sighed and once more began attempting to tear the pins out. When he walked over to her, she spun around and raised her wand at him. He froze, his hands up. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"Yeah, well, you in my universe helped Dolohov curse me so badly that I can't remember the last eight or nine years of my life. You'll understand if I'm cautious."

"What spell was it?" he wondered, dropping his hands before she lowered her wand.

Alexia glanced up at him. "_Item Dolorem_. It was cast three or so years ago and I didn't get mind healing."

Avery's mouth opened and closed. Instead of speaking, he just nodded slowly and reached for her hair, which she let him take. Wandlessly, he began cancelling the heavy stasis charms she'd forgotten the twins had placed, and she breathed out in relief when the tension released. After the spells were gone, he began picking bobby pins from her hair.

"How did you become friends?" she asked finally. She was still tense and she didn't trust him, but she didn't feel the need to immediately hex him. If she could make polite conversation with Dolohov, she could make polite conversation with the alternate version of the boy that had only helped to curse her. "You and Adelaide."

"Ah," Avery nodded, glancing at her through the mirror. "It was our third year. Dolohov cornered her in the common room and tried to hurt her very badly. That was when he cast the curse to tie them together, but we didn't know that for a couple of years. I grew up with Dolohov, actually, so when I saw him on the floor, I threw him off of her and stunned him. After that, I just looked after her until she finally explained to me that she was from the future."

"Are you a Death Eater?"

Avery met her eyes, surprised by the blunt question. "Yes, but Adelaide had to take the mark as well."

Alexia spun around, forcing him to pull his hands back so he wouldn't pull her hair. "_Adelaide is a Death Eater_?"

"It's complicated," he frowned, looking over his shoulder at the open door. "She was forced to take it and was found and saved not long after it was finished."

"I'd rather die than take the mark," Alexia glared. "She shouldn't have done it."

"She feels the same," he sighed, shaking his head at her. "She didn't even break when Voldemort left her alone in a room with Dolohov. She only did it when Voldemort began torturing Severus. He's her brother. What would you do for James?"

Alexia quieted. "I don't know. I don't really remember him. I know he loves me a lot and that he's terrified for me, but I don't remember him. I don't know how much I love him, or how I react to things he says or does. I only know that the thought of his death was what sent me into this episode, according to Regulus."

Avery frowned at her. "I know that curse, Alexia. My great grandfather created a sort of counter curse for the… sort of blanket over the memories. It can destroy it, release the memories. It isn't forever, that blanket will come back, but it's something."

"Alphard said nothing of the sort exists," Alexia shook her head, confused. "There's only mind healing."

"Maybe in your universe," Avery shrugged. "But I can help you."

"What would you do? What would happen?"

"It would hurt," he admitted. "Very badly. I would go into your mind and then cast the curse. It would destroy this sort of blanket. We might see some memories along the way, ones that are close to coming loose."

Alexia stared at him. He seemed genuine and Adelaide seemed to trust him. Mia, as insufferable as she was, also trusted her Avery. The thought that perhaps Alexia had just gotten shitty luck in the draw of Averys crossed her mind and she let out a sigh. "Okay."

"I know what this alternate version of me did to you was horrible," he told her. "Hopefully, I can make it up to you now."

"What do you need me to do?"

"Lie down on the bed," he suggested. He grabbed another pin from her hair quickly before she walked past him and did as he said, taking in a deep breath as she did. He waved her over, and she moved to the other side to let him sit on the bed with his legs crossed. "I'm going to use Legilimency to enter your mind. From there, I'll cast the curse. It will hurt like hell and, like I said, we'll probably see a couple memories. I won't be able to leave your mind until the curse is finished, so you need to be prepared for the possibility of me seeing things you don't want me to see."

"How bad was it?" Alexia wondered softly. "Dolohov, for Adelaide. What's the worst it got?"

Avery's eyes slipped from hers and she thought she saw a bit of guilt in them. "He attacked her at a ball. It was bad. Sirius and Regulus found them and apparently, Regulus tried to kill him."

Alexia nodded quietly. "I got lucky. For whatever reason, I got lucky. They didn't. I know that."

"Ready?" he asked, unwilling to keep discussing it. She nodded a little, so he leaned over her a little until their eyes met. "_Legilimens_!" There was a pause as they slipped into her mind before he cast the curse. "_Comedent Enim Stratum_!"

Alexia wasn't sure if the scream she let out was just in her head, or if she was also screaming in agony verbally. It didn't matter, because just as she felt a painful pressure lift from her mind, she felt an overwhelming and deeply painful influx of memories flood her mind, and was tossed carelessly into one while the others tried to find their place.

_James and Alexia laid next to each other in the hospital bed tiredly. Sirius had been discharged that morning, and Remus was still sleeping. Peter had skipped that full moon, claiming he was sick. _

"_Jamie," Alexia said, grabbing his hand within hers. "Do you ever regret me coming?"_

_James looked at her sharply, surprised. "Honestly, Lex, I'm sure I would've been fine without you… it's just that I wouldn't have so much love in me if you weren't here. I wouldn't know what it's like to love someone else more than yourself. Believe it or not, I was kind of a prat when you got here." _

"_But you love Lily," she argued. "You've loved her for so long."_

"_Nah, not like I love you," he disagreed. "She knows it, too. It's a good thing she's fine with it because I couldn't be with her if she wasn't."_

"_She told me a couple times before your first date that you're most bearable when you're with me," Alexia smiled softly. "Do you remember when we got to Hogwarts and I freaked out?" _

"_Yeah, Lily and I searched the entire bloody castle for you." _

"_I don't know if I was hallucinating or something, but I saw this… woman," she confided. "She told me that I was just clinging to misery and that I was sent people to help me. You, Remus, Sirius, Peter, Lily, the rest of the girls, my Slytherins. Whatever she was, she was right, you know. You guys make everything easier. I just wish I could… keep all the bad from you a little longer."_

"_Lex, the bad is here with or without you," he pointed out. "You didn't bring that when you got here, you know, it's been here."_

_Alexia sighed and glanced over at Remus's bed. "I wish we could just be done with this war. It's gonna do shitty things to us, Jamie."_

"_Maybe if you could be optimistic for two seconds, you'd see that we can win it," he suggested, squeezing her hand. "And I love you, Lex, so much, but you scratched me so bad last night and the pain potion she gave me is making me tired, so maybe we can get more sleep and talk about this later." _

_Alexia smiled softly and nodded, closing her eyes again. "I love you too, James."_

_Xx_

_Alexia ducked suddenly. When she straightened again, she shot a glare at her uncle. "Stop it! I'm paying attention!" _

"_Clearly not," Pollux disagreed. "I told you to try the shield again, Alexia. I want it to be instinct. You run out of magic much easier than you run out of blood. Cast the shield again and hold it for another ten minutes." _

_With an annoyed glare, Alexia did as he asked. With a dagger, she pricked her hand and levitated the blood into the air. With her other hand, she cast the spell, lighting up a red shield. It wasn't held in front of her but rather around her body entirely. _

"Crucio_!" Pollux yelled. Alexia, startled, threw herself out of the way and dropped the shield in the process. _

"_What the _fuck _are you doing?" she snapped angrily, her hands shaking simply from the word alone. _

"_You had a theory, I want to test it," he reasoned. "Go on, then. I've got potions if it doesn't work."_

"_Alphard will be here in minutes for my checkup," she tried, grinding her teeth in frustration. "And believe it or not, I don't feel like being tortured today!" _

"_Oh, you'll be fine," he waved her off. "Cast it again, Potter."_

_Despite her frustration and nerves, Alexia did as he asked and cast the blood shield. It encompassed her body, and she didn't even have to focus on holding it as her blood did it for her. She only had to keep the magic moving to her blood. _

"Crucio_!" Pollux shouted again. She winced as the red light shot at her, preparing for the torture. Luckily, it never came. The curse was absorbed into the shield and she breathed out a sigh of relief. He waved for her to keep the shield up and, more confident now, she allowed him to throw an Imperius at her. That was also absorbed, much to their relief. _

"_I didn't really think it would work," Alexia admitted as Pollux considered her. "Huh?"_

"_Do you trust me?" _

_Alexia narrowed her eyes at him. "I trust you that you don't wish me any harm and that you'd try to protect me if you can. Do I trust you to continue cursing at me endlessly? No, I don't trust anyone like that."_

"_What if I told you that the family magic would stop this curse before it actually hit you?" he questioned. Alexia hesitated. "The only reason it hasn't come out to protect you so far is that it was able to recognize that you were already protected. Come on, give it a try."_

_With a sigh, she nodded. "Fine, go ahead."_

"_Wonderful! Is your shield good?" at her nod, he lifted his wand at her, not noticing the door opening behind him. "_Avada Kedavra_!" _

_Alphard wasn't quick enough to toss Alexia out of the way or something in front of her. Her shield did fail, but something else popped up to absorb the dark curse just inches before it could hit her chest. Her shield fell and she dropped down into the chair behind her, fully aware that she'd almost just died. Again._

"_What the hell are you doing?" Alphard shouted, running over to Alexia. He kneeled down and looked her over, checking her physically as well as her core. "You could have killed her!" _

"_She's fine," Pollux waved him off. "This was the only safe situation where she could test her theory. If I weren't here, our family magic would not have protected her and she would have died. Now she knows that shield can protect against torture and invasion of the mind but not separation of the core and soul from the body."_

"_That was reckless!" Alphard argued hotly. He ignored Alexia as she reached into her bag and grabbed a calming draught. Instead of taking it herself, she shoved it into Alphard's hand and finally gained his attention. "What- I'm not the one that almost died, Alexia!" _

"_Sure, but you're definitely the one that's most upset about it," she rolled her eyes. "I really am fine, you know. And even if I had died, Regulus could have brought me back. Simple."_

_Alphard stared at her and she wondered vaguely if his eye was twitching. Finally, he downed the potion and continued to glare at his father. _

_Xx_

A.S Avery and Alexia both were shoved out of her mind. While he was pulled off of the bed by whoever had entered the room, she rolled over and grabbed her head. She nearly fell completely off of the bed and was only saved by a pair of arms wrapping around her to hold her up.

"What the _fuck_ did you do to her?" C.B Sirius shouted, looking between A.S Avery - who he had grabbed and was holding by the arm while pointing his wand at him - and Alexia, who had been caught by F. Salazar. There were, of course, others in the room. Alexia's screaming had startled everyone and the people nearest to the room had rushed inside to check on her.

"It is her mind," F. Salazar said, watching the way she gripped her head in her hands.

"I helped her," A.S Avery snapped, attempting to tear his arm away from C.B Sirius. "In my universe, there is a curse to rid her of the suffocating blanket of trauma over her memories. She knew it would hurt."

"Get your hands off of him," Adelaide said sharply, rushing into the room. She grabbed A.S Avery and pulled him away from C.B Sirius, who still had his wand on the other man. "Stop it! He wouldn't hurt her."

"It's- it's fine," Alexia managed, groaning with the effort it took to talk. F. Salazar helped her sit down on the bed again. He began waving his hand at her quietly. "I need… my potions."

A.P Regulus finally made it into the room with A.S Fabian and Hermione. A.P Regulus rushed over to Alexia and grabbed her hand in his. "Fuck, what happened?"

"Potions," she told him with a wince. "My bag, my potions, I need it."

A.P Regulus waved his wand quickly. The bag flew over to them from the vanity, and he caught it easily. "What potion, Alex? What do you need?"

"She'll need whatever she takes after her episodes," Avery said. Despite the glare some people gave him, he walked around the bed to stand in front of her. "You remember? All of it?"

To A.P Regulus's shock, she nodded quietly.

"Jamie's never gonna leave me alone about the pranking thing," she muttered, mostly to herself. A.P Regulus, despite his questions, began digging in her bag for the potions she needed. It didn't take him long to find it, and the second he handed them over, she drank them down. Once she'd taken them, she seemed to relax greatly. "He didn't do anything wrong. He offered to help me and I wanted to remember."

"You screamed like you were bloody dying," C.B Sirius told her. "Fucking scared me. You sound so much like Cassie."

"You really remember now?" Hermione wondered. She was standing at the end of the bed watching them all nervously. Alexia nodded.

"I remember Jamie, I remember our parents, and our friends, and I remember meeting Lucius in first year, and I remember that Regulus is… way too fucking patient with me and my shit."

A.P Regulus's lips twitched in a grin. "It bothers me that I miss your cursing."

"Sorry for freaking out," she muttered to him as people began quietly filtering out. "I try so hard not to think about Jamie's future, but it's a lot more difficult the closer we get to… the end."

"Alexia," A.S Avery said, catching her attention again. He stood in the door, clearly about to leave. "If you experience any sort of pain, let me know. Come to me with any questions as well."

"I will," she promised. "Thank you."

He hesitated. "Why exactly did Pollux Black try to kill you?"

A.P Regulus's eyes shot to hers. "_What_? Grandfather tried to _kill_ you?"

Alexia rolled her eyes. "No, not really. We theorized on the first day of class that a particular blood shield could defend against the Unforgivables. We were… mostly right. It's just the Killing Curse that doesn't stop. The family magic saved me in time, but Alphard saw and had a fit over it."

"Pollux Black," A.S Avery repeated. "You let him curse you."

"He's there to protect me," she explained with a small shrug. Shaking his head, he left the room, leaving them alone. Once alone, Alexia threw herself into Regulus's arms. He held her tightly to him, breathing out a sigh of relief. "Tell me how long we've been dating again?"

"Um… a month," he answered. "Why?"

Alexia let out a small laugh of disbelief. "I think I love you, Regulus Black. How'd you do that?"

She saw his eyes light up happily. He pressed his lips to hers, and she melted into the kiss. When they separated once more, he pressed kisses all over her face. "I love you too, Lexi."

"_Ew_."

The couple turned to find A.P Harry and A.P Ron standing in the door, both looking a little disgusted. At the sight of them, Alexia jumped to her feet and ran to pull them in tight hugs.

"I fucking missed you guys," she told them, squeezing them tighter than was strictly healthy. "I mean, Jamie and Fabian and Gideon help, of course, but it was so overwhelming getting into another bullshit situation without you guys. My first night there, I had this meltdown and Jamie helped me out of it and- I just missed you guys."

"Uh," A.P Harry looked to A.P Regulus, who was just laughing softly. "What?"

"She remembers," A.P Regulus said. "And she really did miss you. Complained about it quite a bit."

"Hey!" Alexia glanced back. "They're my first childhood, Black. You're just my do-over."

"You were kissing him," A.P Ron said, making a face. "You're dating Regulus Black? You're dating _Sirius's brother_?"

Alexia winced. She hated thinking of Regulus, her boyfriend who she apparently loved, as Sirius's brother. "Well if it helps, Sirius wasn't against it. He's even gonna ask out Marlene eventually and they date until she dies as far as I'm aware, right Harry?"

"Marlene… McKinnon?" A.P Harry frowned, trying to remember. "I think so. He said her entire family was killed, right?"

Alexia's smile fell a bit. "I think the best part of not remembering was that I forgot that so many of my friends are going to die."

"You're friends with her?" A.P Ron wondered. Alexia threw her head back.

"Take me back to Avery, I want a refund."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Dumbledore stood in front of the gathered groups with an amused smile on his face. Despite the serious times, his approaching death, and the war on the horizon, the situation at hand was fucking ridiculous and he knew it.

"Thank you all for being so patient. I hope you understand, we've got a lot on our plate and not enough people to handle it. Remus has begun research with a few others. For the time being, we'd like you all to stay here with Bill and Charlie while we work on this."

"We can help," Cassiopeia called, gaining stares. "What? We have access to Black Manor and I've been spending some time there lately so I know the library well enough."

"Well, we haven't been able to open up Black Manor," Dumbledore explained. "Sirius refused. We don't know what sorts of dark magic and artifacts linger there."

"We do," M.P Regulus pointed out. "All of us. It's our family, our home. We can take care of it and Bill can come along. He is a curse breaker, after all."

Dumbledore looked out at them. "Alright. We will be at Grimmauld Place or Hogwarts right now if you need us."

Once he left, the room relaxed just a bit more and groups began to form. Completely on accident, Cassiopeia, C.B Regulus, and C.B Sirius took charge of the team heading to Black Manor.

"So do you guys like… live there or something?" Mia wondered, shedding her sweater. It left her in a loose tank top and her shorts, which was odd since it was winter.

"No," Cassiopeia answered, tying her hair up quickly. "I think Sirius would probably rather jump off a cliff. The two of them pawned the damn place off on me. No, we just visit sometimes for information we need. Worst case with this war, we might have to retreat to Black Manor for safety, but we're trying to avoid that."

"No offense, but why are you coming?" C.B Sirius asked Mia. "You seem… ah, not interested."

Mia glanced at her boyfriend and friend. "They pointed out that if shit goes down, you might want me there. Objectively, I'm the most powerful of all of us."

"You literally have no way of knowing that."

"I was the Light Lady that killed Voldemort, whose death turned me into a Legendary."

"Fucking- okay, you might be right."

"What should we expect?" Mia asked them, glancing at C.B Regulus simply because it was Regulus. "Anything to attack immediately?"

"It's possible," he answered. "Know any shields strong enough?"

Mia's lips twitched. "I think I can hold a pretty strong shield just so long as no one tries to throw an Atlas curse through it. I _think_ that was the breaking point."

"Mia, that was before you shielded us," M.P Avery reminded her, coming to stand at her side. "Alexia also had an idea that she wants to research, so she's heading over to Grimmauld Place with her Regulus."

"I'm just gonna say it," C.B Sirius declared. "That's fucking weird, okay? It's weird. I don't care how many of you are dating him, it's weird."

Mia rolled her eyes. "You think we enjoy the sight of Regulus as our _brother_? No. At least none of us are dating James or some shit."

"Well…" Adelaide said as she passed by. At the horrified look Mia gave her, Adelaide laughed. "No, I'm just fucking with you. Reg and I are literally married."

"This… really isn't helping," Cassiopeia cringed. "Please stop."

"How about we focus on the fact that some of us don't really have any relationship with him at all?" Adelaide offered, sitting on the egde of the table the group was gathered around. "There's like three of us that have never met him. That's better, right?"

Cassiopeia glanced up at C.B Sirius. "Will you Obliviate me? I promise I'll start shitting away our money faster. _Please_."

"The multiverse is a bitch," was all C.B Sirius said in response, gaining a scowl from his sister. "C'mon, let's go. The three of us will head in first and get control of the wards so we can invite you in."

"And we won't get killed by the wards?" Mia clarified. The three siblings exchanged a look.

"Uh, yeah, probably not."

"_Probably_."

OoOoOoOoOoOo


	5. Chapter 4

Alexia slammed a book closed in frustration, startling Remus. She slammed her head down on top of the book and groaned. "Jamie would know where I put it. Or he _has_ it."

"Jamie- James?" Remus asked her in surprise. Most of the Order knew generally about the situation but nothing in particular about the groups. Alexia glanced up at him, though she didn't lift her face from the book.

"He's my brother. He was holding onto some of the books Padfoot got for me from Grimmauld Place because Sirius lost his shit on me when Pollux began tutoring me, and I wasn't finished with those yet. So James either has the book or he knows where it is. I thought it might be here, but… I can't find it."

"You're really close with them?" Remus wondered. Alexia nodded a little and waved her hand at the book. She didn't bother to watch it float back to the shelf she'd grabbed it from and instead started on the next book in her pile.

"You too."

"Really?" he asked in surprise. She shrugged.

"You're an empath, right?"

"Not as much now that I'm an adult," he answered. "But growing up, my empathic abilities were particularly strong. They were stunted after the war."

"Well, your young empathic self knew I was fucked when we met on the train before first year. Then entering Hogwarts, I was… not great. I was sent to the past immediately after the final battle, which meant that the last time I'd seen the castle, there was- it was bad. You and Jamie helped me. I'm your beta in my universe, actually. Sirius tried to fight me for it and it was one of the dumbest fights we've ever had."

"You're an animagus?" he asked in surprise. She nodded quietly, scanning the pages in front of her.

"Fennec fox," she answered him before he could ask. "Hey, do you know what this says? I never got to take seventh year runes."

Remus pulled the book out of her hands and read over the runes about five times before he blinked and shook his head. "I've never seen- that doesn't make sense. It's all scrambled."

Alexia looked around for her boyfriend. "Reg, come look!"

A.P Regulus poked his head out from a bookshelf across the room. "What is it?"

"Tell me if you recognize this book or understand the runes," she requested, waving at Remus. The man passed the book over to her boyfriend, and he glanced at the book cover.

"This is one I got for you from Father's private collection. Was it in your bag?"

"Nah, it was here," she said, nodding at a case that used to be hidden by wards that had been firmly concentrated on the basement. "I thought I knew it."

"These runes are nonsensical," he hummed. "Try translating them to latin and then english, maybe."

With a deep sigh, Alexia grabbed the book and got to work on doing what he'd suggested.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"_Mother of Merlin_," Mia shouted, sprinting across the lawn with Bill and M.P Avery. She held a large and strong shield around the three of them and they were forced to run at top speed with the way the strong and dark curses were deteriorating the shield. When they finally got into the house, she dropped the shield. "Fucking- _what the ever loving fuck was that_?"

"Um, so, we were wrong," C.B Sirius said sheepishly, standing in the hall with Cassiopeia and C.B Regulus, perfectly safe. "These wards are different! Turns out, only members of the Black family are supposed to ever come here. Sucks."

"It nearly destroyed my shield!" Mia snapped, her hair beginning to spark angrily. "Any one of those curses could have killed all of us!"

"I was pretty impressed that your shield actually managed to protect you from any of it, honestly," Cassiopeia told her. "How did you do that?"

"Magic," Mia huffed, glancing over M.P Avery and Bill. "You guys okay?"

"Haven't died yet," Bill grinned. "I'm good."

"I'm fine, Sano," M.P Avery assured her. "Let's get working."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

**The Amelia Black Trio**

Amelia shot off another curse, pleased when it hit its intended target. A few curses and hexes were thrown at her and while one did hit her leg and dig in - she thought it was a gouging hex - she managed to block most of them. Breathing in slowly, she gathered her strength and threw a Patronus at her opponent. Directly after that, she cast _Accio_ and dragged him over to her. Once he was there, she plucked his wand out of his hand and used it to hit his leg with a slicing hex.

"Hey!" Draco snapped, tearing his wand away from her. "The fucking duel was over, Mi!"

"You fucked up my leg," she complained. She grabbed his shoulder and used it to lean down and begin healing her leg. It was only when an overwhelming pain consumed them both that she straightened and grabbed onto him, groaning. The pain ended with a bright flash of light, and he jumped away from her, letting her fall to the ground. "Draco!"

"The lights are out," he told her, ignoring her complaints and struggles as she attempted to heal up her leg. "What happened?"

"No clue," she muttered, struggling to her feet. "But I can't heal this. Let's go find Padfoot."

A.B Draco spared a glance at her and, with a dramatic sigh, he wrapped an arm around her and helped her out of the room and very slowly down the stairs. When they got to the last set of stairs, he froze, gripping her tight to keep her from moving. "Who are you? What are you doing in Black Manor?"

The group spun around to look at them and, in his shock, he dropped Amelia. She cursed as she tumbled down a few steps. One of the people - a man that looked to be around 18 - moved forward and helped her up.

"She's hurt," he told the people behind him. "Who hurt you? Are they here?"

"Yes," she huffed, glancing down at her leg. "As much of a prat as he is, I'm more concerned about the strangers in my home."

"Shit, kid, you've got a hell of a shock coming," C.B Sirius told her. Her eyes shot to him, and she looked immediately confused.

"Padfoot?" she frowned hesitantly. "Where's Moony?"

"About three universes down the street," he answered. "Or at Grimmauld Place, take your pick."

"Merlin, they look like you," A.B Draco told her, coming to sit with her on the step. "The fuck is happening, Black?"

Amelia eyed the group and attempted to tap into the wards. She was able to, though she was shocked to find herself sharing them with three others. "They've got the wards, Draco."

"Yeah, you're in the wrong universe," Mia told her bluntly. "We all are. By the way, your house is bloody psychotic."

"Black Manor is meant for the Black family and select guests," Amelia told her softly, repeating what she'd been told throughout her childhood. "Visits, sleepovers, those happen at Potter Manor with Harry."

"Where would he be?" C.B Sirius wondered.

"Potter Manor," she answered. "He skipped dinner tonight."

"Well, he's probably there, so you might wanna go find him," he suggested. Amelia stared at him quietly.

"You're really not my Padfoot?"

"Nope. Sorry, kitten. Am I dead or something?"

"Sirius!" Cassiopeia snapped, smacking his arm. "Harry was so upset."

"Not dead," Amelia assured him. "I'm just not used to being without you."

"Codependent," A.B Draco muttered, earning himself a glare.

"It's not my fault that my father gives a shit about me and yours doesn't, Malfoy," Amelia snapped, watching with satisfaction as his eyes lit up angrily.

"Merlin," Mia let out a small laugh. "You're her dad!"

"At least there isn't a universe where we're dating," C.B Sirius said gratefully. "But I'm a _dad_? I'm not too paternal, you know."

"The entire House of Black and House of Potter raised me," Amelia told him, ignoring the glare her cousin gave her. "Actually, all of us. Me, Harry, Draco, Jazzy."

"At least I'm her favorite in some universe," C.B Sirius said triumphantly. A.B Draco snorted.

"Regulus is her favorite."

Cassiopeia let out a laugh at the look on his face.

"But I'm her father!"

"Uncle Regulus is a lot more logical than you," Amelia told him. "I have no favorites."

"Man, she reminds me of Daphne Greengrass," Mia said. "Very proper, but with a big temper."

"That's Astoria," Cassiopeia disagreed. "I've been friends with both of them since first year. Daphne is proper and sneaky."

"Why don't I take you to Potter Manor?" C.B Regulus offered. "You can meet everyone and hopefully find your Harry and Ron."

Amelia exchanged a glance with A.B Draco. "Ron…?"

"Weasley?" Mia raised an eyebrow. "You know, red hair, annoying, has a pair of twin pranksters that deserve to be hexed sometimes?"

"Oh!" A.B Draco nodded. "Weasley. Their entire family was wiped out during the war along with the Prewetts."

"Oh my god," Mia said softly. "Fuck. A universe without Ron?"

"Less annoying," Cassiopeia muttered, earning herself a nudge from C.B Regulus. "We've got work to do, so…"

"Yeah," Amelia said, glancing at her cousin. "Yeah, let's go."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"Put it down," A.P Regulus instructed. Alexia was currently glaring at the book and papers in front of her with such heat that he was surprised she didn't set it on fire. "You need a break, Lexi."

"Just- it just doesn't make sense!" she complained, throwing her head back. "It still doesn't make sense."

"I know you're sure this is the key to the multiverse," he told her, grabbing her hand. "But it might not be. It might just be that someone lost their mind, wrote down a bunch of runes that make no sense together, and published it."

Alexia shook her head. "Maybe if I read it out loud…"

"That's a bad idea," he told her immediately. "You're not supposed to read runes aloud until you're sure they're safe."

"Well these don't make sense, so they aren't even functional enough to hurt us," she reasoned. Despite his continued concerns, Alexia pulled the book up and began reading them aloud. To her shock, they _did_ make sense, but not because she noticed something new. It felt more like a language being translated to her.

"Alexia!" A.P Regulus said loudly, grabbing the book away from her. She didn't seem to notice the bright light encompassing the pair of them, and she seemed to be in more of a trance than anything else. Unfortunately, he couldn't stop her in time, and she found herself thrown out of the universe and into another one.

"Oh, Merlin," a voice exclaimed and rushed over. Since she was free from the book and the runes, she realized she'd been deposited on the floor of Potter Manor once more, and she groaned in pain.

"Fuck," she cursed, rolling over on her back. Staring down at her was a very familiar face, and she almost didn't see the difference. "Maybe you were right, Reg. That _hurt_."

"You're not Adelaide," he said sharply, taking a step back from her. She screwed up her face.

"Isn't she back at Potter Manor?"

"_You're_ in Potter Manor."

Alexia blinked and looked around to find that he was right. She was lying on the floor of the library, and she was finally able to see the difference in Regulus. "You're older."

"You're younger."

Alexia groaned in understanding. "Not again! I just want to go home! I miss Jamie."

"Are you hurt?" he asked her after a beat of silence. She shook her head.

"Don't think so. I mean, I need my potions soon, but no new injuries. Those runes were just brutal."

Regulus let out a sigh. "Who the hell are you? You're not Adelaide. You're not even her younger self."

"How would you know that? I look like I'm sixteen."

"Because I've been in her mind enough to recognize her as Hermione. You're not her. You can either answer me or I'll give you Veritaserum and you'll have to."

Alexia rolled her eyes and pushed herself into a sitting position. "Adelaide is fine, but she's in another universe. So was I until I- oh, _fuck_ this is my fault! Damn it!"

"Another universe," Regulus repeated, looking over her. His eyes settled on her arm, which was free of a dark mark. "Explain."

"Well, I was just doing pureblood shit in 1976 when Reg and I - my Regulus, sorry - got fucking yanked to another universe. Then more of me showed up. By my last count, there were… seven of us, I think. We got shit figured out and I went to change and Avery- I think it was yours, actually - he fixed my mind."

"He fixed your mind," Regulus repeated, eyeing her carefully. "You let a stranger into your mind?"

Alexia sighed and carefully stood. She was still extremely unsteady and felt the pain from the runes in her core. "The Avery in my universe helped Dolohov absolutely fuck my mind, so I forgot like eight or nine years of my life, including my time in the past. Alphard told me that only mind healing would help, which is what I was told three years ago when it happened. We did work on that, but being in an alternate universe without my memories kinda sucked. Avery offered to use a curse his grandfather or something created to release my memories. It worked, but it fucking hurt."

The door slammed open, and a familiar face walked in, looking concerned. When his eyes met Alexia's, he cursed.

"Mia isn't here?" M.P Avery asked her. She shrugged.

"I got fuckin yanked here, no clue. I just know we're not in that other universe anymore. Did anyone else come?"

"I saw a Harry wandering around when I came up here," he answered her, looking frustrated. "Where are we?"

"Adelaide's universe, I guess," Alexia said, nodding at Regulus. "Oh god, Regulus is gonna be so mad at me. He told me to stop, he said it was a bad idea. I should have listened."

"You mentioned some runes," Regulus spoke up. "What runes?"

"Uh…" she frowned. "They're in a book at Grimmauld Place, but I remember them well enough now."

"Write them down," he requested, glancing at Avery. "Help her. I'm going to go find Bill. He's a curse breaker, he should be able to help."

"He wasn't with me," Alexia said. She made a face when he ignored her and waved Avery over, sitting down at the table behind her. "We can write it down, but it doesn't make sense until you say it out loud. When I did, _this_ happened."

"We can try," Avery told her. She shrugged and the pair set to work together.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

**Amelia Black's Universe**

Mia let out a pained shout as she was deposited on a table. Her ankle crumbled under her, and she found herself falling onto a familiar person, who grabbed her arms to stop her from rolling completely off the table. "_Ow_."

"Are you okay?" C.B Regulus asked, helping her to safely roll off the table. She winced when she put weight on the ankle.

"It might be sprained or something-," Mia paused, catching sight of the man staring at them with his wand out. "If I'm not afraid of the Black Manor wards, I'm sure as hell not afraid of you."

"What the _hell_ is happening?" Sirius snapped at her, stalking over. To her surprise, C.B Regulus placed himself between them before he could reach her. "Where is Mia?"

"I'm Mia," she tried. C.B Regulus shot her a look and she rolled her eyes. "Okay, fine. You're looking for the new one? Amelia Black, right?"

"Who else?" he asked sharply, glaring. She let out a small laugh.

"Boy, you'd be surprised."

"You have even less self preservation than Cassiopeia," C.B Regulus told her, sounding exhausted.

"Hey, look, you're old!" Mia exclaimed upon catching sight of Regulus entering the room. She smirked a little at the sight. "My future looks nice."

"I will help him hex you," C.B Regulus warned her.

"If you don't tell me what's happening right now," Sirius told her, stepping closer despite C.B Regulus standing between them. "I will _destroy_ you."

Mia held back a snarky remark and shrugged. "The multiverse is a bitch. She's in another universe. Well, she might've switched, too. Didn't get much of her story before she headed to Potter Manor. Did she ever travel to the past?"

"What is _happening_?" Regulus asked, eyeing them. "Who the hell are they?"

"I'm an alternate version of your Amelia Black," Mia said before nodding at C.B Regulus. "He's another version of you, except not mine."

"Assuming we believe you," Sirius told her slowly. "Why are you here?"

"No fucking clue. We hadn't even gotten into the library yet."

"Try Veritaserum," C.B Regulus suggested. "We aren't lying. This woman is definitely not my sister… I don't even know where Cassie is."

"With any luck, she's still in the universe we were just in," Mia shrugged. "I don't know what to do now, though."

Sirius glanced back at Regulus. "Get some Veritaserum from Snape."

Glancing at Mia and C.B Regulus with a dark look, Regulus nodded and stepped out of the room. Once he was gone, Sirius lowered his wand and glanced down at Mia's leg.

"You're hurt?"

"Not that bad," she said, waving him off. "I don't really notice it, honestly."

"You said you think it's sprained," C.B Regulus reminded her, confused. She nodded a little.

"Yeah, I know. I think it is."

"And it doesn't hurt?"

Mia rolled her eyes. "I've got more dramatic pain than a sprained ankle to worry about."

"You're hurt aside from your ankle?" Sirius questioned again, looking her over. She looked fine, aside from a bit of shaking.

"I've _been_ hurt for weeks," she snorted. "I'm fine, really. Killing Voldemort doesn't come without some pain."

"...is she serious?" he asked C.B Regulus, who just shrugged.

"That's what they've said."

"It's not like I planned to kill him," Mia said. "Harry was supposed to do that, being the Chosen One and all, but Voldemort was a bit obsessed, so I didn't have much of a choice."

The door opened again and Regulus walked inside, shutting the door quickly behind him. He had a vial of clear liquid and two glasses of water. When he got to them, he set the water on the table and immediately dropped some into the cups and then one drop onto his own tongue.

"What year did you tell McKinnon you had a crush on her?"

Regulus's lips thinned, but he answered quickly. "1974."

"Good," Sirius nodded. "Drink them."

Despite the fact that she knew her Regulus and Avery would probably yell at her, Mia drank down the water quickly and without hesitation. She didn't care much for the universe she was in for the simple fact that she'd be going home as soon as possible.

"Good," Sirius nodded firmly. "Why did you have to kill Voldemort?"

Mia tipped her head back. "You just got to the complicated ones right away, huh? Okay… In my universe, it's June of 1998. In April, my friends and I were on the run from Voldemort and his baddies. One of us said his name like the idiots we are, and we were captured. I was tortured, whatever, and then while recovering, my friend blew up my time turner and we got yeeted - yote? - all the way to 1976. Befriended the Marauders, I gathered some Death Eaters, and basically Voldemort figured all of this out and I became a Light Lady, the one destined to defeat him. So, he captured me, had me killed, and thought I was like, _dead_ dead until I got back to my time and Narcissa told him I was alive. Then I fought him because he knew I was more of a danger to him than Harry, and now he's dead. Woo fucking hoo."

"Are you _sure_ this is working?" Sirius asked Regulus. The other man passed the potion over and it was only after Sirius had tested it himself that he believed her. "Fucking Merlin. Okay, where's Mia? Amelia, that is."

"We saw her for a minute when she was sent to the universe we were in. We sent her over to Potter Manor to meet everyone else and find Harry - he is missing, too, right?"

"How'd you know?"

"It seems like it's versions of me, as well as their Harry and Ron, if there is one. Apparently, you guys don't have Weasleys? That's fucking sad, you know. Anyway, it's us and I _think_ anyone we were touching at the time we were thrown to the wrong universe."

"And… you," Sirius said, gazing at C.B Regulus. "What's your deal? Where are you from?"

"A universe where she's my sister," he answered easily. "She came to 1979 on accident, found me, and took me to 1996 with her instead."

"They're scary," Mia informed them, taking a seat to look at her injured ankle. It was beginning to bruise, and she poked it curiously. "All three of them together. Kinda makes me glad my Sirius doesn't give a shit about his House and wants to leave it to us."

"How are _you_ connected to the House of Black?" Regulus wondered. A smirk crossed her face, and C.B Regulus threw his head back.

"You really don't want to know."

"Reg and I have a sealed soul bond," Mia explained happily. "Just sucks for him when I die, but hopefully that won't happen again. If _he_ dies, I'll be fucking pissed."

"What, because death isn't permanent for you?" Sirius asked snarkily. He was beginning to realize that the two of them really had nothing to help him find his daughter, and he was returning to the angry, anxious state he'd been in when they'd arrived.

"Not so much," she shrugged. "Hey, d'you have a splint? And maybe some super rare potions? If I don't get them, I might slip into a coma again soon."

"_What_?" the three Black men said together, staring at her. She looked between them and blinked.

"What? I'm telling you so it doesn't happen."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

**Alexia Potter's Universe**

**1976**

Lucius eyed Alexia and Regulus as they snuck out of the room. Lady Travers was glaring after them, and he took in a deep breath. He knew the woman had been hoping to corner Alexia ever since the Quidditch incident. He tapped Narcissa's hand and nodded toward the door, which was closing behind the couple. She nodded a bit and he slipped away from their conversation with Alphard Black, who had continued to attend the events.

He walked quietly down the hall and paused a few times when he passed people lingering about. When he finally reached a closed door, he glanced behind him before opening it and walking in. To his surprise, Alexia was standing with her back to him, but Regulus was nowhere to be seen.

"Alexia?" he said softly. The girl tensed and spun around to look at him. It took him a second to see what was wrong. The girl in front of him looked so like Alexia. The biggest difference between the two of them was the eyes - this woman's eyes were glowing. Lucius raised his wand and pointed it at her. "Don't move."

"Lucius Malfoy," she said in surprise. She glanced around, clearly confused. "What year is it, exactly?"

"1976," he answered nervously. "Where did Alexia and Regulus go?"

Her mouth dropped open. "Fuck! God damn it. I finished my time!"

"Where are they?" he asked again, this time louder. Her eyes slid to his and her frustration shifted to curiosity.

"Are you here to hurt them? What were they doing, anyway? I didn't get a very clear answer before. Where are we?"

"We're in Black Manor," he answered her carefully. "For a society event they were attending."

The girl made a face of disgust. "Explains the dress, I suppose."

"You can either tell me where they are, or I'll curse you and figure it out myself."

"Okay, but you won't believe me," she warned him. "My name is Adelaide. I'm an alternate version of Alexia. She is stuck in another universe with her Regulus. I'd say she's in the one I was just in, but…" Adelaide glanced around. "Why the fuck am I in the 70s again? Because she was?"

"No one can travel the multiverse," Lucius raised an eyebrow at her. "We barely have a grasp on time travel. Alexia's case is barely understandable."

"See, that's what we thought, too," Adelaide agreed with a shrug. "And then Fabian, Avery, Harry, and I got yanked to an alternate universe where we found Alexia and Mia and then _more_ showed up, like Cassiopeia, who is Reg's _sister_. It's all fucked, Malfoy. Why were you looking for her? It doesn't seem very polite to curse someone during this pureblood bullshit."

"They are my friends," he answered her, hesitantly lowering his wand.

"Sure, but she wouldn't remember you, right? I'm not sure if you're aware, but she had some serious memory issues. She's fucking lucky Avery has such a bleeding heart."

"Avery?" Lucius scoffed. "He's heartless."

"Maybe yours," Adelaide snapped. She took a moment to calm herself before speaking again. "Avery is one of the kindest people I know. He heard that an alternate version of himself fucked her up and offered his help as soon as he could."

"There's nothing to help her but mind healing."

"And a spell created in another universe that was made for helping someone in exactly this position," she added. "She remembers everything. Last I heard was her Harry complaining about her kissing her Regulus."

"She does remember," Lucius breathed in relief. Adelaide looked at him curiously.

"You actually care about her? Why?"

"We were… close," he admitted. "We are still, but less so now."

Adelaide gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. "You dated! Oh my god. She's all sorts of fucked. Dating Lucius Malfoy, trusting _Dolohov_, messing with time. The only thing she's got right is Regulus. At least they can't bicker about that."

Lucius glanced at the closed door. "You can't stay here."

"What, in the 70s or your universe? Either way, I agree."

"_Here_. Black Manor. No one can find you. There will be too many questions."

Adelaide frowned and looked down at herself. "I suppose that there would be some extreme… issues if Voldemort ever found me."

"Do you not have Occlumency shields?"

"Oh, no, I do," she assured him. She shoved her sleeve up and watched him tense as he stared at her dark mark. "It wasn't my choice. They tortured my brother. I have it, though, so-,"

"I'll get you to Potter Manor," Lucius told her with a short nod. "Only a Black can access the floo. I'll find Alphard to-,"

"Oh, that's fine," she waved him off. "Just lead me to the nearest fireplace."

"Only a Black can-,"

"I married Regulus," she told him, showing him her rings. "So I am a Black now. I think Arcturus, the bastard that he was, even liked me."

Lucius eyed her but began walking. Once they reached a nearby office with a fireplace, he looked her over carefully. "I'll come over with Alphard. He'll want to know about this."

Adelaide couldn't help but smile a little. "I miss him. It'll be nice to see him again."

Lucius handed her the floo powder and so, without another word, she threw it down and sent herself to Potter Manor. She ended up in her bedroom and was shocked to find it wasn't empty as she'd expected.

"Ash!" James exclaimed in concern as he jumped off of her bed, letting his book and notes fall to the floor. When he caught sight of her, he stopped short. "You're not- you're not my sister. You look like her, but I can't feel her in my head."

"James," Adelaide said softly, sucking in a sharp breath. "Oh, god."

"Who the hell are you?" he asked, his voice raising. "Where's Lexi?"

Adelaide put her hands up. "She's safe, last I knew. She was at Grimmauld Place back in 1996, so she's with friends, with family."

"1996," he repeated with a glare. "It's 1976."

"Yeah," Adelaide agreed. "I think she was supposed to go back to 1998, but time seems to run differently in alternate universes, so she wasn't quite home yet. I think I got sent back to the 70s because she was taken during her time here with you."

"What the fuck are you talking about? _Time travel_?" James said, grabbing his wand to point at her. Adelaide froze, suddenly aware that he didn't know she was from the future. Or rather, he hadn't known. From the look on his face, he seemed to be piecing it together. "Lexi was afraid of Hogwarts before we ever got there…"

"Fuck," Adelaide cursed softly. He didn't even notice as she ran her fingers through her hair in stress. "You didn't know? She didn't even tell you? My James knew!"

"You haven't answered who you are," he pointed out, pausing his stress filled thoughts.

"I'm Adelaide. Alexia and I were sent to another universe. She's having memory issues, right? Doesn't remember you? Probably thinks you look like someone named Harry?"

"Every episode, she calls me Harry…"

"It's because Harry is your son. He was our best friend growing up. We fought with him in a war. He's family and he looks exactly like you, just with different eyes."

"She's from the future," James said softly, his wand dropping to his side. "She's from the _future_? That's why she has so many secrets?"

Adelaide shrugged. "I don't know what she knows, but I went through this, too. I knew a lot about a lot of people. Who dies in this war and the next. What year is it? 1976?" she hummed. "No one too close would've died yet, I think. But soon it'll start. The people she loves will start dying and she has to keep all of it a secret."

"She's from the future," he repeated and dropped onto the bed behind him. "So… the guys that attacked her in her third year, they're from the future, too?"

"Probably. What do they look like?"

James frowned. "One was… sort of round with brown hair and the other was a bit shorter, kind of longer, and he had brown hair, too?"

Adelaide froze. "Crabbe and Goyle? They did- they did it here, too?" she let out a shaky breath and pushed her hair back. "Fuck. Fuck- yes, they're from the future. We went to school with them. There was another boy, one that became my friend in fourth year, and he was friends with them. For me, it happened because I punched him and they didn't like that."

"Lexi… why did she come here?"

Adelaide shook her head slowly. "We got caught up on everyone else. If I remember right, she was thrown here after Malfoy Manor- wait, no, that was Mia. Alexia… I think Severus sent her here because she told him he would have to. That's what Regulus said, at least."

"Regulus," James repeated slowly. "He _knows_? Who the hell else knows?"

"James," Adelaide sighed. "We didn't exactly get into that, but as far as I can gather, Lucius Malfoy does - which, by the way, what the fuck?"

"They dated," he told her absently. "Broke up when his contract with Narcissa was made… is that why she got better so quickly? She _knew_?"

"I've met Lucius Malfoy a few times, and he's pretty prominent - or was, I guess - in the Wizarding community. Everyone knows he and Narcissa united their Houses and we know their son. Why she'd even bother to date him, I have no clue."

"Me either," James said softly. He looked somewhat crushed, and she didn't really blame him. "She and Sirius have a soul bond. Sirius is miserable over her dating Regulus."

"_What_?" Adelaide said sharply, tensing. "_Sirius_ is her soulmate? What the _fuck_?"

"What?" James glanced up at her volume. "What is it?"

"I'm married to Regulus," she explained quickly, stepping closer to show him her ring. "He's my soulmate, as well as Mia's. I just thought… most universes, you know, we belong together."

"I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around this entire thing," he admitted. "She's in another universe? Can she get back?"

"She is, and we don't really know, if I'm being honest. She went with your Regulus to Grimmauld Place to do some research while the weird Black trio went to Black Manor with Mia and her Avery."

"Adelaide," a voice called from down the hall. Her eyes lit up and a moment later, the door opened to reveal a familiar face.

"Avery," she smiled gratefully and ran over to wrap him up in a tight hug. "Thank Merlin. Are you okay?"

"Me? What about _you_?"

"Two wands have been shoved in my face and I _may_ have told Alexia's James that she's from the future," she admitted, gaining an exhausted look from her friend. "It's fine. If it's really a problem, she can just Obliviate him later."

"She cannot!" James exclaimed. "What the hell is Avery doing in my house?"

"He's mine," Adelaide told him firmly. "He also fixed your sister, so don't point your wand at him."

"_Fixed_ her? She wasn't broken!"

"She sort of was."

"Her mind," Avery spoke up, nudging Adelaide to get her to quiet down. "I'm familiar with a curse that can heal the smothering damage done. She may have more episodes in the future and if she does, she'll need immediate mind healing but for now, she remembers everything."

"She remembers?"

Avery glanced at Adelaide quietly. "Your mind? Can you feel him?"

Adelaide fell quiet and thought back to what she'd felt upon getting to the universe. "I can. Lucius Malfoy interrupted me before I could do anything about it. It was better when I arrived here, but it's getting worse again."

"He's strong and likely curious where you came from," Avery said, glancing at James. "Your wards, how tight are they?"

"They're fine," he said, glancing between them. "Mum renews them every year with Aunt Cassiopeia and Lucretia Prewett."

"Fine," Adelaide repeated, looking at Avery. "I don't care what she said about him. Fine got me attacked on my wedding night, Avery."

"I know," he assured her gently, touching her arm. "James, do you think Dolohov is a danger to Alexia?"

James frowned at them. "He's tried to kill her."

"But now, do you think he'll hurt her?"

"I don't know. She doesn't always tell me what's going on."

"Malfoy said he was bringing Alphard over," Adelaide told Avery. "When he gets here, I'll work with him to make more timekeys, okay? Get us to the future. He might be dead there."

"Downstairs," Avery suggested. Adelaide nodded at him.

"Can I… talk to James? I'll be down in a minute." Her friend glanced between them and nodded. Once he was gone, she looked at James quietly. "I know you're confused, James. I know you're probably hurt, too. I can't really offer you any comforting words, but… In my universe, you died in the same raid in which I left to go back to my own time," she lied, trying to come up with something that wouldn't suggest his true death to him. "It was an accident and it didn't happen in anyone else's universe that I can tell. I haven't seen you since that day. It was months ago now, but… the last I saw you was during a fight, you know. I know you're not him, you don't know me, but I'd really like to make a request if that's okay."

James frowned at her, confused. "A request?"

Adelaide stepped forward and grabbed his hand. "I just want you to be there. In 1998, you know. I want you to be alive. I know you probably can't control that, but… you were my brother, James. I might've been adopted by Sarah Snape, but I had a familial bond with you and Charlus and Dorea. I know Alexia loves you more than just about anything, so be alive, okay?"

"I'll… try," James said quietly, prompting a smile from her.

"Thank you."

"Oh," he gasped suddenly. "Sirius will notice you're missing- er, Alexia's missing. He has to go as her date to these things if she doesn't want to be followed around."

"Shit," Adelaide cursed. "Okay, I'll go back and grab him."

"Uh, your eyes are a pretty clear difference," he told her. She sighed and waved her hand at it, casting a very strong glamour over them that took a lot of energy.

"Tell Avery I'll be right there," she requested before ducking back into the fireplace. After throwing down the powder, she found herself in the same room she'd disappeared from and gasped sharply at the strength of Dolohov's mind in hers. She doubled over and had to grab the desk in front of her to refrain from falling over.

"Curious."

Adelaide looked up and cursed her luck. Dolohov stood in front of her, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed in front of his chest. "Get out of here, Dolohov," she tried, biting her lip in hopes her voice wouldn't shake.

"I'm in your head," he told her, pushing off the wall to walk closer. "I wasn't in your head yesterday."

"I'm just looking for Sirius," she told him, stepping to the side to avoid him. His hand reached out and grabbed her arm before she could make it past him. "Let go of me."

"The Patriarch told me to leave Alexia alone," he said conversationally. "And I did. I have. I've even come to care for her in some way… but you are not Alexia."

"Who the hell else would I be?" she tried, feeling her heart rate rise. "Let go of me, Dolohov."

"She asked me once," he told her. "If I had cursed her. I hadn't. The only curse she's sent at me was a Bombarda, and then when she fought back in the woods. She's never cursed my core and I certainly haven't had to resort to cursing hers. So, why the hell am I in your head?"

"You don't hurt her?" Adelaide asked, tugging at her arm. "You don't _want_ to hurt her anymore? Is that real?"

"If I wanted to hurt her, she'd be hurt. She knows that."

"Really? So your Patriarch, he's enough to make you stop?" she continued, feeling anxious and a bit manic as she confronted the man in front of her. "Do you consider yourself a good person?"

"I don't think being a good or bad person matters," he told her curiously. "What do you think?"

"I think you are a monster," she spat. "I think you have no limits. I think you take what you want and don't think for a second about the people you hurt aside from _enjoying_ that you hurt them. I think you don't care about what you do because you know you'll get away with it. You're the most vile person I've ever met in my life and if I could, I would kill you right here."

Dolohov's eyes flashed dangerously and he stepped forward, leaving little space between them. "Who are you? Keep in mind that you're not Alexia, so I _will_ hurt you."

"It doesn't matter who I am," she decided. "I'm here for Sirius. That's it."

When she turned to try to walk away, he tugged her back and cast a familiar spell when their eyes accidentally met. They ran through multiple memories in a flash, only a taste of each time the Dolohov of her universe had hurt her and how. It was stopped by a hand grabbing her and pulling her away. She fell against Avery, who held her tightly with his wand up at Dolohov.

"Addy, he could've killed you," Avery snapped. "James could have come for Sirius."

"I am not _that_," Dolohov snapped at her angrily. Curiously, his hair began sparking in the same way that hers often did. "I would _never_ do those things to anyone and I would only cast this curse on Alexia should she resist magic as it tries to encourage her to uphold her part of our pairing _to save her life_. She denies this pairing, Magic will kill her. In that instance, this curse would save her. What happened to you did not come from me."

"It's not just me," Adelaide told him angrily. "There's another one of us. Her name is Mia. You did all of that and then killed her. Then there's Cassiopeia, who you attacked, though she refused to clarify _how_, but it sounded bad. There's also Hermione. She fought you in the ministry and you cursed her with something called Anima Coniungere."

"That's very similar to your curse," Avery told her carefully, eyeing Dolohov. "But it's meant to keep her… pure. You can be with Regulus without problem, but if anyone touched her with romantic or sexual intent-,"

"It would be agony," Dolohov agreed. "I don't care what they've done or what I did in your universe. I have limits, apparently more than them. If any of that happened to Alexia, I would kill the person that did it."

"You act as though you actually care for her," Adelaide scoffed, disgusted.

"I do," he answered her sharply.

"We're leaving," Avery told Dolohov, carefully pushing Adelaide behind him. She let him and, without another word, stumbled back into the fireplace and to Potter Manor. To her surprise, the room she appeared in was full of people. Lucius had brought over Alphard as promised, as well as Narcissa and, to her surprise, Sirius. In addition to them, Charlus, Dorea, and James were there. Adelaide looked out at the group and felt tears well up.

"If anyone has a calming draught, I'd really appreciate one," she informed them. The fireplace lit up and Lucius stepped forward to tug her out of it before Avery could knock her over. It took a bit of restraint to keep from smacking him away.

"Oh, dear," Dorea sighed, waving her hand silently in the air. When the potion reached her, she handed it over to Adelaide, who drank it down gratefully as Avery reached her.

"He could have hurt you!" he told her, taking the empty bottle from her absently. "Adelaide, we have worked _so hard_! You saw him, you should have turned around and left immediately!"

"I know!" she exclaimed, squeezing her eyes shut. "You heard what she said, Avery. It's _true_. Why the fuck does she get one with limits? Why not me? Why not Mia or Cassiopeia or Hermione?"

"It doesn't matter," he told her carefully, ignoring the people around them. "We can't change it, Addy. We've got what we've got and you have a lot of people that work really hard to make sure he will never get anywhere near you again, including me."

"I know," she nodded quietly. "I know, I'm sorry. Please… don't tell Regulus?"

Avery let out a startled laugh. "I won't tell him until I feel like seeing him kill the both of us, Addy."

"Are you talking about Dolohov?" Sirius wondered with a frown.

"I think we've got more important questions to ask them first," Dorea informed her son. "Would you be opposed to Veritaserum?"

"No," Adelaide shook her head.

"_Yes_," Avery disagreed in surprise. "Don't you remember what happened with Theo and Blaise? If I hadn't been there, you would've-,"

"I know what I would've said," she promised. "I _did_ say it, you just made sure they couldn't hear. You're here. I trust you. _Regulus_ trusts you, Avery, and that means something. If something like that happens again, you'll silence me."

"Any questions we ask should be answered-," Sirius tried to demand, but Dorea gave him a look and he quieted.

"He can keep his wand on him just in case," she told Adelaide. "Are you sure you're okay with it? There are other ways, if necessary."

"No, it's fine," she confirmed, sharing a look with her friend. "I'll be okay, Avery. I trust you."

Despite Avery's continued reluctance, the Veritaserum was given to Adelaide. Everyone stayed in the room, mostly because only James believed her story for the simple fact that he couldn't feel the twin bond anymore.

"What's your name?" Alphard asked, a simple base question.

"Adelaide Morgan Black," she answered. At the curious looks she was given, she shrugged. "Regulus and I are soulmates. We got married."

"Oh, Merlin," Sirius groaned to himself quietly.

"And how did you meet Regulus?" Alphard continued, marking down the first question as sufficiently answered.

"On July 31st, 1998, I ran upstairs with Sirius, Severus, and Remus because the twins - Fred and George, that is - were missing from Harry's birthday party. When I opened their bedroom door, a prank hit me in the chest and broke my time turner into my chest, which is why my eyes are the way they are. I fell into the Hog's Head and Abe placed me with Sarah Snape. I became friends with James, Sirius, and Remus on the train before first year-,"

"Not Peter?" James interrupted. Immediately, Avery silenced Adelaide as she hurried to answer that question. At the looks he got, he shrugged.

"The answer to that question could alter the future. Alexia seems to have attempted that on her own and we don't need to help her mess things up further."

Adelaide tapped him and he quickly removed the spell. "-Walburga that I was a bigot that was trying to turn Sirius around, so I was invited to Christmas with them. I went and met Regulus there."

"Good," Alphard nodded. "And you're from another universe?"

"I am."

"Where is Alexia?"

"The last I saw her was before she and your Regulus went to Grimmauld Place - we were in 1996 - to do research on why the hell we're all hopping universes. She may be there now or she may have swapped as well."

"Is she in danger?"

"Not that I'm aware of. Well… Salazar Slytherin was there, so if he's actually evil, then maybe?"

"He didn't seem evil," Avery assured them. "He seemed like a… good guy."

Adelaide couldn't help but laugh a little. "This is all ridiculous."

"Are you a danger to anyone here?"

Adelaide glanced around the room. "Not unless someone attacks Avery or I."

"Do you know anyone here?"

"I know everyone here at least a little bit," she answered. "After Sarah Snape died, Dorea and Charlus took me and Draco in and-,"

"Draco?" Lucius asked. "You were with Draco? Why?"

"I was. We became friends in fourth year when I cut my leg to prove to him that my blood was not, despite what _you_ told him, made of mud. He came to the past after a year there because of an accident. He stayed with me and then came here when Lucas and then Sarah died. Severus… he went to Malfoy Manor."

"And anyone else?" Alphard pushed, guiding her back to the original question.

"James and Sirius I met in school," she nodded. "I fought Lucius in the war, obviously. I met Narcissa once or twice and recently helped Draco pardon her. I also knew you. We worked together for a long time. You had the _audacity_ to die before I got back to my own time. I'm actually quite irritated with you for that."

Alphard let out a laugh. "What did we work on?"

Adelaide waved off her glamour and showed him her eyes. "The time turner turned me into… something else. Decayed cells become the sands of time. We did a lot of work in trying to make timekeys to send me, Draco, and some others like Avery to the future."

"Including Regulus?"

"No, but we argued over him for a long time," she admitted. "And I was right, so take that."

"Adelaide," Avery shook his head at her.

"He had something he had to do to uphold time or everything would fall apart. If he hadn't done it… we might never have won the war. So I waited until he did that to leave. He took the item, I sent us to Potter Manor's basement, gave him the cure for the potion he took - which took me _years_ to make, so they can stuff it about putting myself in danger or almost dying - and then I gave him a draught of living death and left him there until 1998."

"What about almost dying?" James asked curiously, forgetting she'd taken Veritaserum. Avery tipped his head back in exhaustion. That topic was one argument he refused to join. He did agree with Regulus and Draco, but he also knew Adelaide would be furious with him for siding with them despite their friendship having not even begun at that point.

"In our second year, I was trying to figure out what potion he'd take in the cave and we couldn't find it in any books at all, so Draco and I went to the orphanage where Riddle grew up and talked to the woman, who pointed us to the cave where he took the locket from. We went in and I took the potion because how else would we figure it out? We couldn't take it out of there. Anyway, Draco freaked out but after I'd taken it, he took me back to Hogwarts and after Madame Pomfrey spent a little bit healing me up, she told us what the potion was, thus giving me the ability to make a cure."

"She left out the fact that because of the torture she's previously endured for so long and being in the body of a twelve-year-old girl, she nearly died multiple times before Madame Pomfrey declared her stable. Regulus was furious."

"He's alive, isn't he?" she pointed out.

"Okay," Alphard nodded at her and waved his wand. She felt the effects of the potion disappear completely. "I believe you. I don't think we need to bother with him."

"So what now?" James wondered, looking between the group. "How do we get her back?"

Everyone paused.

"We're not sure," Adelaide told him finally. "They'd just gotten started on figuring it out when Avery and I were tossed here."

"Then I guess we get to work on research," Charlus decided.

"I'd like to borrow Miss Black, if that's alright," Alphard requested. Adelaide immediately nodded.

"I was hoping for your help on something," she explained. "Let's go."

OoOoOoOoOoOo


	6. Chapter 5

F. Hermione paced back and forth in the library of Potter Manor. The library wrapped around the balcony of the second floor and was completely open. She could look over the balcony and see one of the redheads - A.S Fabian, she thought - lying spread out on the floor, exhausted. She wasn't sure where F. Harry or F. Ron had gone, and truthfully, she didn't want to know. They'd begun asking her questions as soon as Dumbledore had left and she'd only been saved by F. Sirius and F. Salazar, who had worked together to get them to leave her alone.

The news that Dolohov had some sort of obsession with her in so many universes had made her feel sick. Her hopes of finding a cure and possibly never seeing him again had diminished greatly upon hearing the other girls' stories.

F. Hermione leaned against the balcony and watched Adelaide move into the hall and lie down next to

A.S Fabian. They looked at each other and exchanged some quiet words. Despite how stressed they looked, they also seemed comfortable in assuming they were safe, or at least that they could handle whatever came at them.

"She might hex you if she catches you staring," A.S Harry told her, startling her. She looked to the side and realized he must've been standing there for a while.

"Merlin," she shook her head. "I didn't mean to stare. I'm just thinking."

"That's exactly what I'm trying not to do," he laughed. "Where's your- er, me?"

"I think he's with Professor Slytherin," she answered with a small shrug. "I was trying to escape."

"You know, I tried to figure it out when she first got back. It didn't exactly take long because the second she stepped outside of wards, he came for her. Fucking terrified me, if we're being honest. It was the first time I realized that she was different - she didn't want to go help Sirius and Avery fight."

"She won't fight him?" F. Hermione wondered softly. A.S Harry shook his head.

"She explained it to us that night. It's harder. I still don't know all of it, you know, but Fabian does, I think."

"He does?" F. Hermione asked curiously. "How did she get close to him?"

"I wasn't there," he laughed. "But I think he tried to protect her, you know. Do you ever look at someone and just think that they're so tired and just need to rest?"

"Yeah. Mostly you."

"I see that in everyone that was there. Sirius, Remus, Snape, Avery, Regulus, Fabian and Gideon… I dunno what he did to her, but it was bad."

"So why does she look so… I don't know, comfortable? If he's here and he could potentially reach her, why doesn't she seem more worried?"

"I guess it's just something she learned with time," he shrugged. "I did with Voldemort… er, sort of. She helped a lot with that. How much have you fought him? Once?"

"Technically, yeah."

"Technically?"

F. Hermione scowled and couldn't help but still feel a bit bitter about the situation. "When we were in the founders' time, Ron had a dream that turned out to be a prophecy in which the founders were missing and the three of us, plus Helena and Théo, were all that was left to protect the students. The founders decided they needed to test our skills when we really thought we were in danger. Professor Gryffindor used this special Seer spell to have us fight whoever would be the most danger to us in our lives. You obviously fought Voldemort. Ron didn't have to fight anyone because his strategy was sound. I fought Dolohov."

"What happened?" A.S Harry asked curiously. "The prophecy, I mean."

F. Hermione's eyes drifted away and darkened at the memory. "The centaurs were upset that they couldn't have the castle… they lured the founders away and took all of the students, including us. They spent some time torturing all of us before we managed to escape. Helena and Théo had been taken to the office by the founders before they went to the meeting, but they couldn't find us, which… I guess is a good thing. Without us, without Harry, those students might have died."

"Oh, Merlin. Prophecies are fucking shit."

"I agree."

The pair of them were stopped by a familiar pain overcoming them. F. Hermione gasped in pain and glanced over the edge to find Adelaide and A.S Fabian beginning to glow as well. She stumbled back just in time for the pain to suddenly escalate and then disappear, just like the first time. When she fell over, she found two others dropped abruptly on the floor as well, and all three of them took a second to groan in pain.

"Damn it," A.P Regulus cursed, the first one to jump to his feet. "Damn it, Alexia!"

"Fucking hell," C.B Sirius muttered, taking a moment to stand. didn't have the time to pull herself to her feet because someone else did it for her and pulled her back.

"Professor Gryffindor," Hermione gasped in shock. "Oh my god, I'm back!"

"Are you alright, Hermione?" he asked her, his hands on her shoulders as he looked her over. "Hurt?"

"I'm okay, Professor," she promised. His eyes lifted to look at C.B Sirius and A.P Regulus and before he could even point his wand at him, Hermione raised her own to shield them. "They're okay! They're okay, they're not going to hurt us."

"Where is Salazar? And Harry and Ron?"

"I don't- oh Merlin, I don't know."

"They're probably still there," Sirius told her with a frown. "I fucking hope Cassie is. Where are we, Hermione?"

"This is my universe," she assured him. "We're in Potter Manor library. If you're Cassiopeia's Sirius, then who are _you_?"

"Alexia," Regulus answered her shortly. "I believe this is her fault."

"What did she do?" she wondered with a small frown.

"Hermione," Godric interrupted. "I'd like you to tell me what happened."

"Oh, right," she shook herself. "How long have we been gone?"

"Around six hours now."

"Merlin," she breathed. "Okay. Somehow, we got taken to another universe. There was this pain in my core, sort of like the curse, and a bright light and then we were standing in the middle of a bunch of people that looked like me and Sirius had my dagger in his shoulder."

"Speaking of which," he reached into his pocket. She breathed out a sigh of relief at the sight of her second dagger. "I was very concerned when I found that, Hermione. The only time they won't return to you is if you've died."

"So you thought- oh my god, I'm so sorry!"

"Hey, sorry, I'm a bit slow here," Sirius said. "I get that I met bloody Salazar Slytherin, kitten, but you're telling me this is-,"

"Godric Gryffindor," the man introduced with a firm nod.

"I need to get to Grimmauld Place," Regulus said, moving past Sirius and Hermione. "Alexia was right, I think."

"You said it was her fault," Hermione spoke up. "What happened, exactly?"

Regulus paused to look at them and sighed. "She found a book and was certain that this set of runes were the key to all of this. The thing is that the runes made no sense in any order. She decided to speak them aloud and when she did, this happened. I have to find that book."

"Go," Godric ordered. "Hermione, go with them. I'll inform Rowena and Helga and we'll be over soon. Remus is already there."

Hermione glanced at him as Sirius and Regulus made their way towards the stairs. "Professor, can I- can I talk to you for a minute?"

"What is it?" he asked in concern upon noticing the worried look on her face.

"It's just… you said Dolohov is the person most dangerous to me, right? In my entire life?"

"Yes, that's what the spell said. After he cursed you, it seems to be true."

Hermione bit down on her lip anxiously. "I met a lot of different versions of myself, Professor. He's hurt most of them in horrible ways. One girl was killed by him. Another, Regulus's version of me, he tried to kill her. It was bad, Professor, and it doesn't sound like they ever really manage to get away from him."

"Hermione," he told her seriously, catching her eyes. "I promise you that I will never stop looking for this cure. None of us will. We will do everything we possibly can to keep you safe, okay? Not just because you're our student but because we care a great deal about you. We'll figure this out."

"What if he kills me, too?" she asked quietly.

"He won't." The certainty in his voice surprised her into nodding. He offered her a smile and patted her on the back. "Go on to Grimmauld Place, Hermione. We'll be over as soon as I've updated them."

"Thank you, Professor."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

**Happy Harry Universe**

"What the fuck is _this_?" Cassiopeia asked sharply. She was shocked to find herself alone, and felt slight panic at the fact that Sirius and Regulus weren't around. So, she did what she always did. She tugged on her bond with Regulus.

Except it felt _wrong_.

With a soft sigh, she glanced around. She was still standing outside the Black Manor library, so she sucked in a breath and reached for the door. It was just as her hand touched the handle that a wand poked her back.

"Hands up."

Cassiopeia spun around. In front of her was Regulus - not her Regulus, certainly, but _a_ Regulus. This one was older, almost as old as Sirius. He'd obviously not been removed from his rightful time and had aged as he should've. "Oh, god."

"We're going to have a talk," he informed her, nodding at the door behind her. It swung open, though she wasn't sure if it was wandless magic or ward manipulation. "Inside."

"Here," she said, slowly moving to offer him her wand. He took it suspiciously and began to move, but she just put up a hand and used the other to collect her daggers and turn off the recall spell. Once she'd given those over as well, she began moving. He silently guided her to a seating area nearby, and she waited for him to speak. She knew her brother was dangerous. She'd certainly been on the wrong end of his wand before.

"Tell me first who you are."

"Ah, maybe how I got here would be a simpler question," she suggested. At his empty stare, she sighed. "Cassiopeia Narcissa Black. In an alternate universe, I'm your sister. You, me, and Sirius run the family together."

"Assuming I didn't know that travel between the multiverse is currently impossible," he began, eyeing her critically. He clearly couldn't deny the Black family resemblance, and there was something else that stopped him from immediately dismissing her words. "How did you get here?"

"Oh," she frowned. "Well, my brothers and I were with Mia and Avery here in Black Manor trying to do research because all of us got pulled to the wrong universe. Mia is another version of me, too. I didn't actually realize I'd swapped universes again, but you're older than my Regulus, which makes sense if I wasn't there to- it doesn't matter. We were only in Black Manor because we wanted to do research on how the hell any of this happened. I was told Alexia went to Grimmauld Place to do research there and I'd be shocked if no one looked through Potter Manor."

Regulus stared at her quietly. "And you're in my head because?"

Cassiopeia waved her empty hand over her hand and arm and showed him her bond marks. She pointed to the one on her arm first. "That's with you and Sirius. The one on my finger is just you and I. When I was a baby, you- your alternate self swore blood fealty to me. I was just too young for you to seal it. By the time we were together again and we _could_, I managed to convince you to let me do the same. It sparked a sort of twin bond, which was sealed when- er, it was sealed. Bloody helpful, too. So when I didn't see them with me when they just were, I tried to use the bond, which… called to you? How is that possible?"

"None of what you've said is possible," he reminded her seriously. "I don't have a sister. I never have."

"Um… do you know someone named Hermione Granger?"

Regulus raised an eyebrow at her. "We've never met in person, but Sirius asked me to write her about her excessive studying. She seems bright."

"Yep, that's me," Cassiopeia breathed out in relief. "Er, alternate me. It's weird for me because I've never been Hermione Granger, just Belle Potter or Cassiopeia Black. The other girls have been her, though, apparently. Oh! I know how we can figure it out. Can you tell me about Voldemort? Is he dead? Still alive, or..?"

"He is dead."

"Okay, continue," she pushed. "How did it happen? Who found the Horcruxes? Who managed to kill him?"

"I found his Horcruxes. James and Lily killed him when he came after their son, Harry."

"Oh, I know which one this is! This is the Happy Harry one!"

"Excuse me?"

Cassiopeia blushed. "Sorry. There's just a lot of us so I had to label them in ways aside from the colors and there's like three different Hermiones at this point. The Happy Harry group were the ones that came from Godric's Hollow. Harry was raised by his parents and even has a sister. Your Hermione hasn't done the insane shit any of us has, which is a good thing for her, I guess."

"Sirius said Harry was missing," Regulus informed her. "You're saying Hermione is, too?"

Cassiopeia shrugged. "They're fine. Ron Weasley is there as well. Everything is fine except I don't have my brothers or anyone else that even knows what's going on."

A grim Patronus sped into the room and came to a stop in front of Regulus. "Harry's back, except he's… there's something wrong with him, Reg. He's with Fabian Prewett? Come to Potter Manor as soon as you can. James is losing it."

Regulus eyed Cassiopeia. "You know anything about this?"

"Well, since I'm here, it's entirely possible that this is the wrong Harry. Is Fabian Prewett even alive in this universe? He died in 1976 in mine, but Mia and Adelaide apparently brought him to the future when they went back."

"He and his brother died during the war," Regulus confirmed with a small sigh. "Alright, let's go."

"Uh, where? I've got research to do."

"We're going to Potter Manor so you can explain everything to them."

Cassiopeia paused for a moment. "James and Lily are there?"

"Yes. Why?"

She sucked in a short breath. "Nothing, it's- it's nothing. Let's go."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

The scene in Potter Manor was clearly a stressful one. James and Lily were pacing outside of a room with Remus, who held the hand of a younger girl with bright red hair, the same hair Cassiopeia had when she was that age.

"Oh, god," Cassiopeia breathed, looking over the scene. The thought that her life should've looked like that crossed her mind and she stopped short to stare at them. "Fuck."

"Regulus," James breathed in relief at the sight of him. "Thank Merlin you're here. Sirius is in there with them but- _Hermione_?"

Cassiopeia couldn't even speak. He stared at her with confusion, but also deep concern. It hurt. She was familiar to him, different from when she'd gone to the past. She turned on her heel and walked away again, unable to hold it together. She'd had no clue it would hurt so badly to see them again, and she hadn't realized how badly she'd wished they had been her parents.

"Hey," Regulus said as he caught up with her. "What is it? You have to explain to them, Cassiopeia. They won't believe me. _I_ wouldn't believe me."

"I was adopted by James and Lily Potter in December 1979," she whispered. "I was in danger from Voldemort, so Orion gave me to them. But… they died in 1981. Harry and I were raised by Lily's sister, Petunia, and her family. Then when Sirius- when he was able to get to us and tried for custody, he went to find their wills because he was our godfather. Thing is, I wasn't in their wills. I had to go back to the Dursleys and I got- bad things happened before Sirius figured out who I am and got me.

"I met them once when Dolohov fought me in the DOM and I fell into the Veil. I ended up in 1979 in Potter Manor and they talked to me, healed me, told me they'd add me to the will because I would be their daughter and they'd love me. I was okay with that being my only encounter with them. Seeing them like this- seeing them as a _family_ and looking at it from the outside- I can't, I just can't."

"Okay," Regulus breathed in. He seemed a bit overwhelmed, but grabbed her arms gently anyway. "I'm sorry, Cassiopeia. You didn't get the family you deserved, maybe ever-,"

"My brothers are the best thing in my life," she snapped, feeling touchy. "I wouldn't be here without Sirius and Regulus and Harry."

"You still didn't get what you deserved," he repeated gently. "There isn't anything we can do to change that. But you can talk to them, assure them that their son is safe, and explain what's going on. I have no doubt that if you want to talk to them later, they'll be fine with it, okay? But for right now, you need to help them like they helped you."

Cassiopeia glanced back at the small, nervous family. They were looking at her and she wasn't surprised. After taking a deep breath, she looked at Regulus and nodded. "Okay."

With a small nod, he put his hand on her back and guided her back over to them. "I know things are confusing right now, but she's got some of the answers."

"But she's not Hermione," Lily told him in confusion. "Are you related to her?"

"In a way," he offered. "I think we need to let her talk to Harry and Fabian first and then she can explain everything to you, okay?"

"Okay…"

James looked at Cassiopeia uncertainly but unlocked the door for her. She gave him a shaky smile and walked in. Harry sat on a chair, looking extremely grumpy. Fabian was talking softly to Sirius, who looked like he wanted to punch Fabian.

"Which one are you?" Cassiopeia asked Harry, startling Sirius. Harry glanced up at her with a scowl.

"We were just trying to survive Christmas, you know," he huffed out. "I didn't even want to go downstairs! Now I'm being interrogated by my dead godfather."

"Okay," Cassiopeia made a face. "I know we invaded yours but it wasn't really our choice. What's happening right now?"

"I've told him," Fabian explained to her. "He doesn't believe me."

"Mm," Cassiopeia hummed. She walked over to Sirius and held her hand out to him. He looked down at it and back up at her. A second later it processed and his eyes shot back down to her hand, which he grabbed tightly within her own.

"I haven't appointed my heir yet!"

"Well I'm not _your_ heir," she pointed out. She then pointed at her bond mark. "Feel around - there's someone else's magic ready to support yours, right?"

"What the fuck is going on?" he asked loudly after he took a moment to confirm her words. "There's no alternate universes!"

"You're thick in every universe," she muttered, irritated. He glared darkly at her and she just replied by sticking her tongue out at him. "I'm not afraid of you, Sirius. You couldn't hurt me if you tried."

"Uh, he could hurt us, Pip," Fabian pointed out.

"He won't," she assured him. "I mean it. We're from three different universes. Quick warning, they're all shit. You got lucky here. Did Pettigrew even ever betray you?"

"Peter?" Sirius raised an eyebrow and scoffed. "He's one of the most loyal men I've ever met."

"Yeah, you'd think."

"If any of this is true, why the hell is Harry here being so-,"

"Moody?" she asked. At his nod, she shrugged. "Our parents died in my universe and his, you apparently died in his, and he was just trying to relax and like thirty of us just fucking popped in."

"You're a Black."

"And?"

"Who died?"

"James and Lily," she repeated, anxiety rolling through her. "And I'm sort of fucked up by seeing them out there all alive and a family, so maybe don't rub it in my face or Harry's."

"He's asking why," Fabian explained for her. Her mouth opened a little as she understood.

"Orion gave me to them when I was a couple of months old because Voldemort wanted me," she explained. "They adopted me. It's been a fucking mess. I looked just like that little girl out there, actually."

"You, black curly hair like Bellatrix-,"

"Hey," Cassiopeia snapped. "Don't. We killed her, so don't think I want to be _compared_ to her."

"You're adopted," Harry told her with a glare. "They're not your real parents. You wouldn't know how this feels."

"Really?" Cassiopeia asked, her hair already beginning to spark angrily. "I _feel_ like I've never had any true parent figure! Until Snape, that is, who you hated so fucking much. Then Sirius comes and I can't even _stay_ with him and then I have to leave the Dursley's in an emergency when Dudley- I don't care how much you want to brood or complain. My life is shit, just like yours, so don't make it a contest!"

"...Merlin," Sirius breathed. "Where the fuck is our Harry and Hermione? And where the hell did Ron go?"

"They were in his universe," Fabian nodded at Harry, who was glaring at Cassiopeia. "All of them. They're safe there."

Sirius's eyes fell on Cassiopeia's bared arm again. He reached out to touch the bond and was surprised when he felt the connection more deeply. She glanced at him and caught the look on his face. It was one of confusion and concern, and she tugged her arm away from him.

"I'm fine," she said before he could ask. She knew her Sirius could occasionally tell what she was feeling when he touched her bond mark, and she just hadn't expected this one to do the same.

"Fuck," Sirius muttered, stressed. "Fuck, okay. Let's… go tell James and Lily then, I guess."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

**Mia Potter's Universe**

James was the first one to find one of them. He was walking back to his room when he heard someone groan in Mia's room. He threw the door open and was shocked to see Sirius on the floor rubbing his head tiredly. "Padfoot?"

Sirius's head shot up. "James."

"Look like you've seen a ghost," James joked. Sirius got to his feet and rushed over to grab James. He looked him over closely before he pulled him into a tight hug.

"Am I dead?" he asked as he squeezed his friend tightly.

"Uh, no?"

"Prongs, _you're_ dead!" Sirius reminded him even as he refused to end the hug. "I've never asked if I'm dead so many times in one month."

"You're not dead, Pads," James assured him. "What's going on? Why were you in Mia's room?"

"Mia? What- _oh_," Sirius breathed. "Fuck, okay. I get it. She never said you're alive here!"

"What are you _talking_ about? You found her?"

"Uh, sort of. Maybe we can go down to the ballroom?"

"_Why_?"

"Come on," Sirius said, tugging his old friend behind him. The two made their way down the stairs and it was once they got to the bottom that he spotted a confused trio of two Hermione's and one Harry. "Thank Merlin, I'm not alone."

"Sirius," Harry breathed out in relief. "Have you seen Cassie?"

"Wrong Sirius, Pup," he said apologetically. Harry didn't even hear him because his eyes had settled on his dead father.

"Uh," James glanced between them. "I'll admit to having a lot of questions, but why are there two Mia's and neither of them are actually Mia?"

"Cassie should be here," C.B Harry whispered to himself as he stared at the alternate version of his father.

"Mia's in another universe," Sirius said bluntly. "None of us are from this universe, I think."

"I'm not," H.H Hermione agreed. The only thing about the situation that they were in that was weird was the fact that James was so young. She'd been a part of Lily Potter's scholarship program for muggleborn witches and wizards and because of that, she'd been a part of the wizarding world for almost two years longer than most muggleborns. It was how she'd made friends with Harry.

"I was in my own universe," Hermione sighed in frustration. "I just want to go back."

James looked between them and nodded slowly. "I'm… gonna get Dad."

"Dad?" Sirius's eyes lit up. "He's alive?"

"Both of them are," James replied with a small, confused frown. When someone could be heard on the stairs, he leaned over and looked up. "Kat! Hey, I need your help."

An eighteen-year-old girl with long black hair hurried down the stairs. When she caught sight of them, she blinked. "What the fuck?"

"I need to go to the ministry and find my parents," James told her. "I don't think anyone else is home. Would you mind watching them?"

"I guess, but I'm gonna get Daphne and Astoria here," she told him. "I don't really feel like potentially dueling two Mia's at once."

"That's fine," he told her absently. He glanced at the odd group once more before he rushed toward the nearby floo. The group he left behind stood around awkwardly for a minute before Kat broke the silence.

"Yeah, so, what the fuck?"

OoOoOoOoOoOo

**Black Sibling Universe**

Amelia felt herself drop to the floor and rolled with it carefully. She'd spent a long time with her Aunt Lily practicing muggle self defence and how to handle herself, so the fall wasn't that bad. She could tell that a few other people had also fallen because the room they were in was large enough to echo and she heard some others groaning amongst the chatter. When she got to her feet, she was relieved to see Draco. She ran over and grabbed his hand tightly within her own the way she'd done when she was nervous since they were kids.

"We're in the Ministry," Salazar told them. It was true - they stood in the Atrium while people rushed about. It seemed that almost no one had seen them yet, and Amelia cursed softly.

"Where's Harry?" she asked Draco. "Do you see him?"

"I think it's just us, Mi," he shook his head. "Where are we now?"

"I want to know how we got to the ministry," Regulus pointed out. "We should get back to Potter Manor and see if we can find Mia and anyone else-,"

"Cassiopeia," a voice called, answering their question of where they were. "I was hoping I could catch you before you went back to school."

Amelia exchanged a look with Draco and turned around. To her surprise and relief, it was just Daniel Greengrass. He was still walking closer and he seemed to slow when he realized that something was wrong.

"Where did Sirius go?" he asked hesitantly, glancing at Salazar.

"Can we talk privately?" Amelia requested, her voice even. "A lot is happening, Lord Greengrass."

His eyebrows shot up curiously but he nodded and led them through the ministry to an empty conference room. "Please explain."

"Your Cassiopeia and her brothers as well as Harry Potter and Ron Weasley are currently in another universe," Salazar took over calmly. "We do not belong here."

"Harry is her brother," was the first thing Daniel could manage to say. "That's ridiculous. Who are you?"

"Salazar Slytherin," the man answered. The look of shock and disbelief on Daniel's face was mildly frustrating to Salazar. "Since it's just us, we need access to Grimmauld Place and Black Manor to continue research on how to return home and bring Cassiopeia and her family back."

"How do you expect me to believe this?" Daniel questioned curiously.

"In my universe," Amelia spoke up. "I have a soul bond with Theo Nott. He could confirm or deny who I am."

"Cassiopeia is dating Blaise Zabini."

"I did, too, before we found our bond on accident. Are they close? Does Blaise try to make sure Theo's with her when he can't be?"

"He trusts Theo," Daniel suggested. "They've been friends since they were small children."

"No, he knows that they have a soul bond," she rolled her eyes. "Find them. Prove me wrong."

"Draco-,"

"He's not yours," Amelia said possessively, gripping her cousin's hand tighter. "He came with me."

"You're not supposed to be here, either, then?" Daniel asked Regulus tiredly. Regulus shook his head shortly.

"I'm not, and I have no patience for this. If Mia is potentially in a universe without a version of me, she could die. I need to figure out what's happening immediately."

"That sounds a bit dramatic," Draco muttered, earning himself a dark glare.

"Mia has endured extreme damage that she will never recover from," Regulus snapped. "Our soul bond is the only thing that keeps her alive and functioning. If she dies in another universe, I have no _clue_ if Sirius could even bring her back."

"I'll take you to Potter Manor," Daniel offered. "You can get Remus's help there, and I'll bring Cassiopeia's friends over. I suppose I should contact family and possibly Amelia as well…"

"We need to go through whichever libraries we can find. I need to get to Hogwarts," Salazar told him. "I'll need to open up Rowena's library, but I believe she'd approve in this situation."

"Rowena… Ravenclaw's library?" Amelia asked, her eyes widening. "She has a library in Hogwarts?"

"Only one of us can open it up," Salazar confirmed. "I'm certain they're already working on it back home."

Daniel sighed. "Okay, let's get you over to Potter Manor. Slytherin, you can come with me when I head to Hogwarts. We're lucky this happened today - Dumbledore is out of the country."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

**Golden Trio Universe**

When all was said and done, really, the ballroom was full of eleven Harry's and Ron's. Truthfully, it was a bit chaotic if not hilarious.

"Okay!" Bill called, sending up sparks. He winced when they hit the ceiling and left a mark. "Shut it! I know we're missing everyone, but we're working on it! The rest of the Order has been sent to Grimmauld Place and here to keep working. We'll figure this out. For now, please stay in this room and try to keep calm."

"But why _us_?" H.H Ron complained. "Why is it just us? And not even all of us, right?"

"We don't know yet," Bill admitted, glancing at Bertie Croaker, who had finally been informed of the situation.

"We think that whoever did this might be… thinning the crowd, as it were," Croaker suggested. "Less of you, fewer to look through to find whoever they're looking for, you see."

"So you think this is on purpose?" F. Harry asked, tense. "They're looking for someone?"

"Since the biggest variations have been in versions of Miss Granger, we believe they might be looking for a specific version of her," Croaker nodded. "So I would appreciate it if all of you could write down anything and everything you know about your versions of her. Everything you've gone through with her, anything personal you know - her families, her friends, her enemies, you get the point. We'll be looking at that first."

"What about the others that came with us?" A.S Harry wondered. "Why did Fabian and Avery come with us?"

"Athair came with me because he was touching my shoulder, I think," F. Harry offered with a frown. "So maybe it's whoever was pulled along that way. It would explain where Athair is."

"Athair?" Croaker asked.

"Salazar Slytherin," F. Ron filled in. "So you want us to sit here and write down everything we know about Hermione and then… what? Do nothing?"

"We're doing the best we can," Croaker assured him. "We just require your patience for a little longer."

OoOoOoOoOoOo


	7. Chapter 6

**Adelaide Snape's Universe**

"I told you," Alexia scowled and leaned back in her chair. Avery was sitting across from her, also clearly annoyed. "All I know is that when I said it, I understood the intent. _Something_ is happening. There's a reason we're jumping around and I think it's to find one of us in particular. It could be me, it could be Mia, we don't fucking know, so leave me alone before I fucking hex you."

"So I take it you need a break," Gideon commented as he entered the room. When Alexia spotted him, she breathed out in relief.

"_You_ I like. I'm friends with you. No matter what this alternate Avery did for me, I know what they're capable of."

"Adelaide gets cranky when she needs to eat," Gideon told her in place of replying to her words. "When was the last time you ate?"

Alexia scoffed. "Well, we didn't eat in the last universe we were in for about ten hours and before that, it had been about six because we were at Black Manor for so long mingling and shit."

"So you're saying you need to eat?"

"...maybe."

"How about we go out? We can hand this stuff over to Bill and get back to it when we get back, yeah?"

Alexia sighed and got to her feet. "Yeah, okay. Thanks."

He nodded and waved her out of the room and then to the floo. In seconds, they were in Diagon Alley, where he led her through the shops to a small cafe near Gringott's. Once they were seated, he leaned back and looked at her. "Stressed, Pip?"

Alexia nodded shortly. She was uncomfortable in that universe. She felt something was just wrong, but she couldn't tell what exactly. With how many different versions of Harry around, plus two versions of Sirius and Fabian, she'd had difficulties telling which familial or even soul bonds weren't actually hers. It left her feeling _off_ and just confused. "I want to get back home. I'm worried about Regulus. He isn't here. He could be anywhere."

"Regulus is tough," he assured her. "In any universe, I think. We'll get you back to him."

"It's not just him," she said tiredly, nodding in thanks when their tea arrived. "It hurts being away from my twin bond with Jamie. It wasn't so bad before because there were so many versions of Harry trying to uphold it despite not even knowing, but now… I miss my brother, you know?"

"I do," Gideon agreed with a sigh. "My twin bond is fucked too. Tell me about the runes."

"They don't make sense until they're said aloud," she began, more than willing to mull the situation over again. "And speaking them triggers this- this curse, or whatever it is. As I spoke them, I got it, but it wasn't like words. It was… intent, I think. When I read them, it felt like they were trying to thin the crowd, find someone, which suggests that the intent may have changed since we were all taken to that other universe. It's like these runes are alive, or somehow connected to something capable of complicated thought process."

"That's interesting," Gideon hummed. "Sounds a bit like an imbued object."

"A _what_?"

"Imbued objects are extremely powerful and dangerous," he began. "They're basically hyper haunted objects that don't really really on the known laws of magic to get things done. Like this, for instance. We don't know of any way to travel between universes, yet it's happened."

"How do you know about that?" Alexia asked in surprise as she considered it. "I've never heard of them before."

"Oh, they're more common in America," he admitted. "But they're known to pop up. They covered them a bit in our Auror training for dangerous magical objects. I'd bet Bill would know more about it than I do."

"That's great!" Alexia perked up. "We should go talk to him!"

OoOoOoOoOoOo

**Amelia Black's Universe**

Regulus rubbed his temples, his eyes closed and head resting on the back of his chair. "You aren't listening to me. I don't _care_ how much it costs or where you have to go to get it. I need the potion, Mundungus. You can either get it for me or I'll supply Amelia Bones with enough memories to have you sent to Azkaban for the rest of your life."

Mundungus's eyes widened dramatically. "It'll be a few hours. I have to travel to Germany, you see, and-,"

"Get it to me in one hour," Regulus snapped. Before the squirrely man could argue, he put his hand up. "What are you waiting for? Go."

As Mundungus rushed out of the room, Regulus dropped his head into his hands and sighed. The potions that he'd been tasked with getting were made on a case by case basis, which meant that they'd need to steal them from people if they cared to get them in time. Regulus didn't exactly have a problem with that, per se. His problem was that his niece still had not been brought back. Harry too, he supposed. And Draco.

"I haven't seen Dung that nervous since we threatened him after he stole Kreacher's shit," Mia commented from the door. Regulus looked up at her in surprise and watched as she frowned at him in concern. "You're getting a headache, huh?"

Regulus frowned when he realized that she was right. "How'd you know?"

"It's always the same face," she shrugged. "And you only hold yourself like you've got the literal weight on your shoulders when you're getting a headache. Or my Regulus, I suppose."

"I'm worried."

"She seems strong," Mia shrugged. "I'm sure she'll be fine."

"Just because she is strong does not mean I wish her to be in danger."

"Trust me, I don't think _any_ version of you would want any version of me in danger," she assured him. "But something that my Regulus is learning is that danger is just a part of my life, one way or another, and I think that may be true for Amelia. Has she been in danger much before?"

"From other students," he offered. "We keep her out of trouble most often."

"She's lucky," Mia hummed softly. She walked over and took a seat in front of him and he observed the way her shaking had worsened and how often she winced in pain. "I turned eleven and that was it - I was in danger every year. I was pretty pissed to be a Light Lady. Avery suggested it, you know, and I threw a bit of a fit to your alternate self. He's extremely patient with me."

"How old are you?" he asked curiously.

"Twenty," she shrugged. "Why?"

"So for the past nine years, you've been in constant danger without a break?"

"Uh… sort of," she frowned. "I got a bit of a break at first when I went to the past because no one really knew me, but after the whole Dolohov thing, that got fucked pretty quick."

"Dolohov," he repeated. "He's dead here. Lily killed him during the war."

Mia's lips twitched happily. "Lily is honestly, truthfully, one of my favorite people in any and every universe."

"What happened with him? Dolohov."

"I don't think you really want to know, if we're being honest."

"What if Amelia is in your universe? How much danger is she in?"

Mia shifted uncomfortably. He had a point. While she hadn't gotten into deep specifics with the large group, she trusted Regulus and felt safe telling him alone. "It started because he slapped my arse. I slapped him and ran away. After that, I found him and Rabastan cornering Mary Macdonald in the library and stunned and hexed them both. Later on, they cornered me and Dolohov hit me with a pretty bad _Sectumsempra_."

"That could've killed you," Regulus breathed. Mia winced.

"That was his goal, yep. Let's see… Reg found me and luckily, Severus was there and he managed to save me. I think after that was the ball, where he sort of just bruised my hips and threatened me. He tortured me a little bit, too, but Gibbon saved me from that, which was nice because his Crucio is worse than Bellatrix- anyway, Voldemort got wind of a Light Lady to oppose him and then heard about me and had me taken from a raid that I sort of stumbled upon after Reg and I fought. Dolohov took me, Voldemort went through my head after _days_ of torture and general fuckery. Then he told Dolohov to do whatever he wanted and to kill me by the end of the night. So, he did."

"Days of torture," Regulus repeated softly. "You died?"

Mia nodded quietly and lifted her shirt enough to show him the horrifying scar on her stomach. After that, she removed the glamour on her neck and let him glance at the bite mark. "I saw him during the final battle. He tortured me, hit me with _Sectumsempra_ again - which, by the way, is how he killed me - and bit me. He escaped the battle and we don't know where he is."

"So if Amelia is in your universe-,"

"If she is and she, for whatever reason, decides to leave places that we know are safe, she could possibly be in danger. Dolohov knows that Sirius can bring me back to life - it was some dark magic, okay? - and because of that, he won't hesitate to kill me."

"We have to work harder," he demanded. "We have to get her back… why didn't they catch him? Why didn't they find him?"

Mia made a face at him, annoyed. "Originally? Severus found me and I had to take out a mental barrier so that he'd remember me and know to help me. He was far too disoriented to kill or arrest him. Aside from that, I was literally dying. Again. After Harry fought Voldemort? We were counting the dead and tending to wounds. After I killed Voldemort? Because Regulus and I were fucking dying, all of my Death Eaters were in a fuck ton of pain from my mark burning them as I died. We were a bit busy that day."

"I'm sorry," he sighed, rubbing his face. "I have never been so worried about her before."

"You guys are close?" Mia wondered. Regulus nodded.

"When Marlene died and Sirius begged me to help him out, I was… tired. Angry. I'd spent far too long around Horcruxes trying to destroy them, and it had messed me up."

"I get that," Mia assured him. "I did, too."

"Amelia was just… so _bright_ compared to everything else. I've done everything I possibly can to make her happy and safe. If I'm being honest, without her, I don't think I'd even be in contact with Sirius or anyone else."

"Well, we just have to hope that she's smart enough not to go anywhere public in whatever universe she's in," Mia shrugged. "And I'm sure she is. It'll be okay."

Regulus nodded quietly and straightened. "Your potions should be here within an hour. Until then, I think we should go do more research."

"Let's go."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

**Alexia Potter's Universe**

**1976**

When Adelaide got back to Potter Manor an hour later, she was clearly frustrated. She said nothing to anyone there and instead grabbed some parchment and a quill and began writing furiously.

"Uh… what're you doing?" Sirius asked her nervously.

"Alphard can't help me," she muttered, mostly for Avery, who she'd sat next to. "He needs more specifics. He doesn't want to risk those jumps again. If we try it and I jump too far-,"

"It could be dangerous," Avery agreed. "We don't want to spend months here. What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to remember everything we did to it to get it to work. At the very least, we can make yours," she assured him quietly. "You'll get to the future just fine. Worst case, I spend a bit longer here than I expected."

"Addy, no," he disagreed sharply. "You can't."

"Safer here than our universe," she muttered. "Less of a chance of jumping to the common room and having Dolohov _Imperius_ me into kissing him."

"Fucking- he did that?" Sirius asked. Adelaide glanced at him. She'd almost forgotten he was there.

"He did a lot."

"You were using it as a portkey, too," Avery reminded her. "You don't have to do that."

"I do, actually," she shrugged tiredly and set her quill down. "The reason I was gone for so long that first time was because the sands of time got ahold of my core, which is sort of made of sands, and so it just… launched me further ahead. The portkey kept it away from my magic."

"How long were you gone?" James asked. He'd been sitting quietly across from Sirius, who was on Adelaide's right side. "And why?"

"Um," Adelaide glanced at Avery. "How long _was_ I gone? All together, I mean. I know it was about a month or so the first time, because Reg was… stressed."

"He was more than stressed," Avery muttered. "Your bond was stretched to oblivion. All in all, I think it was around two months."

"As for why," Adelaide nodded along. "I'd figured out that I was basically a walking time turner thanks to Arcturus's library. I realized that I could _make_ time turners without dying, and went to Alphard and Abe with the idea. We argued over it for some time, but they agreed in the end. Alphard likes to experiment far too much to resist. It took a lot because of my core. I went to the common room after that first jump, then after Fabian and Alphard got Dolohov away from me, I jumped to the Shrieking Shack - bad idea, Moony was out and only partially dosed, and I broke my ankle to shift to stay safe - and then after Sirius carried me to the infirmary, I jumped to Abe, and that's when it actually worked."

"When did you go back?" Sirius wondered. "After that?"

"Merlin, no," she shook her head with a small laugh. "I had to stay to help Reg. I also didn't want to leave…" James met her gaze and she quickly looked away. "I didn't want to leave my family."

"Lexi sometimes says that as much as she loves being here, when the bad shit happens, she sort of wishes she hadn't come," Sirius told her. "She always looks so ashamed when she says it."

"I don't really blame her," Adelaide admitted. "I wouldn't change my time for the world, but there were definitely times when… it was just too much. Losing another parent was hard."

"I can't believe you knew," James muttered, glaring at Sirius. "And you didn't tell me!"

"She made me take another Vow so I wouldn't tell anyone without her permission first," Sirius made a face at him. "Just because I almost accidentally told Peter."

Adelaide sucked in a sharp breath and exchanged a glance with Avery. It was probably a good thing he'd taken that Vow.

"_Another_ Vow?" James asked in confusion. It took him a second to understand. "That mark on her arm, the Vow was with _you_?"

"Er- yeah, sort of."

"Why?" Adelaide wondered as she began writing again. She'd gotten most of it down and just had to add more details that she vaguely remembered telling Alphard - anything that might be important.

Sirius glanced at James hesitantly. "Um… because she sort of watched me die and wanted me to swear to not die."

"You died?" Adelaide asked while James looked sick. "When?"

"There was this fight at the Department of Mysteries and-,"

"Oh," she frowned to herself. "Ron died there in my universe. You had to hold Harry back from trying to grab him."

"You _died_?" James asked sharply. "What the _fuck_ Padfoot?"

"I didn't do it on purpose!"

"He hasn't done it yet," Avery pointed out. "And despite how clearly reckless Alexia's actions were, you won't know what happens until it happens, so perhaps we should focus."

"I just want to know why she didn't tell me," James frowned to himself. "She doesn't trust me?"

"She trusts you," Avery assured him. "She loves you more than anyone and she trusts you. If we're being honest, Adelaide was a bit reckless in telling as many people as she did about herself."

"My friends are shit secret keepers!"

"Which is why you told _me_," he raised an eyebrow. "Why did you tell them?"

"I told Sev because I trust him and he knew there was something wrong with me," she began with a shrug. "My friends like Marlene knew I was adopted because we were sitting together and Lily, the kind, amazing girl that she is, was way too absent when James asked how long she's known me. She said since July."

"Lexi told Lily in first year," James told her. "She had a huge panic attack and Lily and I went to find her. Once we had, she just told her. It was Christmas first year that she told me, Sirius, and Remus that she was actually nineteen and had fought in a war."

"That was a terrifying nightmare," Sirius muttered, remembering the night. "I'd never heard anyone scream like that before."

"Reg found out because he convinced me to start learning Occlumency and let him teach me in second year," she continued thoughtfully. "Except instead of the memory I meant to show him of going to the library with my parents, I ended up showing him a memory of me at fourteen with fucking Crouch Jr Polyjuiced as Moody and teaching us to throw off the Imperius. He was… a little suspicious."

"Merlin," James blinked in shock. "_Moody_? Isn't that man untouchable or something?"

"I assume that's why no one bothered to do any sort of security check," Adelaide agreed. "He was there my entire fourth year. Taught us all about the Unforgivables. Anyway, I told him about everything then because… well, he'd just seen it."

"I can't believe you let him in your head," Sirius made a face. "The mind is a fragile thing."

"He couldn't hurt me if he wanted to," Adelaide pointed out. "Our bond would've revealed itself if he tried to and that would've stopped him."

"Regulus," James shook his head. "You're bonded to _Regulus_."

"Married, actually," she rolled her eyes at him and then the look Sirius gave her. "It's more than just me, you know. Mia's bonded to him as well, and clearly Alexia is dating him. Seems like something just draws us together in any universe, even if we're not dating. Cassiopeia was his sister and they had some weird fealty bond."

"Wow, I feel so much better now," Sirius muttered bitterly. "What the fuck do I do if she doesn't ever want to be with me?"

"Find someone else to make you happy," Adelaide said as if it were obvious. "Whatever you're doing now, pouting, it's not helping you. I got lucky in that I had no interest in anyone else before or after we found our bond and neither did Regulus. If he had or I had, we wouldn't have gotten together so quickly. Try not acting like the bond is inevitable, maybe, and treat it more as a nice option."

"I've tried telling him," James shook his head at her. "He doesn't get it really."

"Don't you like anyone else at all?" she asked Sirius with a frown. "Isn't there anyone else that interests you? Anyone you want to spend time with?"

"Well… I kinda liked Marlene, but I was a dick to her when she asked me out," Sirius shrugged. "Not much I can do about that now."

"You can apologize and ask her out," Avery stared at him. "It isn't that hard."

"You make it sound so easy."

"Mate, you ask girls out all the time," James rolled his eyes. "Just do that but be sincere."

"And now you've reached the issue!"

Adelaide rolled her eyes silently and looked back down at her parchment to read it over before handing it to Avery. "Let me know what you think of this and add anything from after if I was acting weird or anything."

"Not weird, just manic," Avery shook his head as he looked it over. "And that's not too rare for you."

Adelaide scrunched up her nose. "The wizarding world doesn't exactly have medication for bipolar disorder, Avery. I have to rely on calming draughts."

"It looks good to me," he assured her as he handed it back. "I still don't think this is a good idea, Addy. I'd rather be here with you to protect you."

"Believe it or not, I do know how to protect myself. Dolohov is my weak spot, I get that, but in this universe, he isn't the sick bastard we know."

"The Carrows? The Dark Lord?"

Adelaide narrowed her eyes. "The Carrows were holding Marlene at wandpoint. If I hadn't gone with them, she would've died. Voldemort can go fuck himself."

"Adelaide!"

"Sounds like Alexia," James muttered with a small smile.

"I'm going to take this to Alphard," Adelaide told them. "I'd appreciate it if you guys could keep working. I know Malfoy said he would be in Malfoy Manor and Narcissa was going back to Black Manor. I really want to get back as soon as possible."

"I'm going to come with you," Avery told her, closing his book and getting up. When she went to argue, he raised an eyebrow. "Adelaide, I do not trust you not to try to test them on your own."

"...Fine."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

**Founder's Universe**

Godric sat in the office with his friends and sighed. "What do you propose we do about it?"

"I have never heard of anything like this," Hegla commented softly. "Rowena, you and Salazar-,"

"We theorized," Rowena nodded. "We thought there might be other universes similar to ours. How much did he differ from our Sirius?"

"It was hard to tell," Godric admitted. "But it seemed that Hermione trusted him."

"But she's okay?"

Godric hesitated then. "She is overwhelmed and afraid, but safe."

"Did she speak of them? These other versions of her, Harry, and Ron?"

"Not much. I sent them to Grimmauld Place. It seems they may know how this happened."

"I suggest we talk to them and try to figure out why these particular versions of these people were taken there," Rowena said slowly as she thought. "Who was it? Hermione, Sirius, and who?"

"Regulus Black," Godric answered. "He was frustrated. He said someone named Alexia did this."

"Let's go, then."

By the time they got over to Grimmauld Place, Sirius, Regulus, and Remus were all in the library working over a single line of runes copied out of a book, which sat in the middle of the table.

"That's it?" Rowena asked, moving over to them immediately. She plucked the book off of the table and got to work with them.

"Where's Hermione?" Helga questioned, her brow furrowed in concern. Sirius and Remus both looked up at her together.

"She went to talk to someone," Remus shrugged. "I told her to stay here until we figure this out."

"Speak with _who_?"

"Didn't say," Sirius muttered and turned back to the runes.

"Let's give her some time," Godric suggested before Helga could sneak off to find the girl. "She has had a lot on her plate recently, and she might need a moment to think."

Despite disagreeing, Helga nodded and began helping everyone else figure it out.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Hermione stepped out of the floo and brushed herself off. Moments later, Draco came out behind her and gazed around. They were in a house that had apparently belonged to Narcissa before she'd been married. It was one of the properties Sirius had decided was safe enough for Theo, which meant he could go there when he was bored or wanted to get away. "You're sure he won't mind?"

Draco rolled his eyes at her and walked past her into the hall. She followed him up the stairs to a small sitting room where they found Theo lying on a rug and holding a book above his head. "Visiter."

Theo glanced at the door and leaned up. "Hermione. Is everything alright?"

Hermione hesitated before she shook her head. "It's a long story that I don't fully understand. I need your help."

A hand settled on her shoulder, making her jump. She grabbed it and tugged hard, eliciting a yelp from Blaise.

"Fucking hell, Granger!" he exclaimed, pulling his hand back. "It's just me."

"Hermione, why do you need help?" Theo asked, ignoring his friend. "What happened?"

"It's… sort of hard to explain. Would it help if I told you that Harry, Ron, and Professor Slytherin are currently… not in our universe?" All three boys just stared at her and she groaned in frustration. "What if I told you that Regulus Black is currently alive?"

"...okay," Theo agreed, jumping to his feet. "Where are we going?"

"12 Grimmauld Place," she answered, surprised when it let her. It took her a second to remember that they'd removed the Fidelius and replaced it with the Black wards that were meant to be on the house - wards that relied on the Lord and Heir to keep the place safe. Blaise called it out and went through and after Theo left, Hermione followed behind. Once back in Sirius's office, she closed the floo. It was only when she turned around that she found Remus frowning darkly at her. "Um… hi."

"I told you to stay here," he reminded her, clearly frustrated. "We thought you'd been taken again, Hermione!"

"Theo's father is a curse breaker," she told him in place of apologizing. "I think he might be able to help."

"And Draco?"

"Draco knew where Theo was."

"I suppose Blaise is here because they are, then."

Blaise shrugged and picked up a book that sat on the desk, clearly bored. "I have nothing better to do. She said Regulus Black is here."

"They want to talk to you," Remus finally sighed, looking at Hermione. "They want to know everything you can remember about the other girls. Regulus and Sirius already said everything they knew about Alexia and Cassiopeia."

Hermione sighed and walked past him to the library. Everyone else followed behind, and she winced a bit at the stares she received. "I only really meant to bring Theo, if that means anything."

"Cassie wouldn't be alive without those three, so I don't mind them being here," Sirius shrugged. The three teenage boys stared at him in confusion. "What? You're her friends. She stayed at Nott Manor with Harry before their first year. Straightened you out, Draco, and your prat of a father had her attacked."

"Father never cared enough about Granger to _attack_ her," Draco scoffed.

"Cassiopeia is pretty different from Hermione," was all Sirius said in response.

"Hermione," Rowena said, gaining her attention. "Tell us about these other girls. Godric says they've had run ins with Dolohov as well, and Sirius and Regulus confirmed as much."

"He killed one of them," Hermione began hesitantly, a little bitter that Sirius and Regulus couldn't do it for her. She supposed they probably hated talking about it almost as much as she did. "She came back, but it sounded bad. Another one he used a curse on… I don't entirely understand it, if I'm being honest."

"It's a forced soul bond," Sirius explained for her. "She's bonded to Regulus, but she's also bonded to Dolohov."

"It is a step down from your curse," Godric told her with a sigh, apparently too distracted to remember that Blaise was in the room. "It allows her to be in relationships outside of the relationship with him."

"How do you think they feel about Obliviating students?" Hermione asked Draco quietly. He snorted.

"If they disagree with it, I'll help you."

"Hey!" Blaise exclaimed, a hand on his heart. "I thought we were friends."

"Aside from Adelaide," Hermione said, getting back to the topic at hand. "There was Cassiopeia and Alexia, but you said they already mentioned them?"

"They did."

"Let's see… there was that other Hermione who hadn't encountered him at all because the war had ended so long ago. The new girl didn't either, did she?"

"Don't think so," Sirius agreed.

"Then there was the Hermione whose universe we landed in. She'd only run into him at the DOM and he didn't curse her like he cursed me. I think that's it."

"Did anyone else have any run-ins with him?" Helga wondered. Hermione shook her head hesitantly.

"No, I don't think so. There were three other girls there, but they didn't see him. It was Alexia, Cassiopeia, Mia, Adelaide, the other Hermione and myself."

"Real quick," Blaise cut in. "So, Granger, you actually meant they're in another universe?"

"Yes, I did."

"So… what the fuck?"

"That's sort of what we're trying to figure out here," Sirius answered him. "Apparently, it's these runes."

"Alexia was trying to figure them out," Regulus explained, clearly still frustrated. "They make no sense and she decided it would be a good idea to speak them aloud. As soon as she did, we were sent here."

"I saw Adelaide, Fabian, and their Harry glowing as well," Hermione spoke up. "I'd guess it was everyone, not just us."

"It's not the runes," Theo muttered, grabbing the book. "These aren't- these are a distraction. It's not the runes that's causing this."

"How do you know?"

"Because this set of runes is used specifically for cursed books," he explained. "To distract from the curse itself. Have you checked the book?"

"There's a low level of intelligence in the book itself," Sirius shrugged. "Not enough to power _this_."

Theo let out a sigh and waved his own wand over the thing. Everyone watched him intently as the book lit up for a short second. Once that was done, he handed it over to Hermione, who had been watching over his shoulder. "Try it again. It shouldn't send you anywhere now."

"Are you sure?"

"Not about anything at all," he shook his head. "That thing is alive, not just intelligent. I just placed a magic suppressant on it."

Hermione looked down at it nervously and began reading the runes. At first, nothing happened, but then she, Sirius, and Regulus lit up. Theo tore the book out of her hand, but it was too late. All three of them disappeared in a bright flash, leaving the three teenage boys alone in the room with three of the Founders.

"_Fuck_."

OoOoOoOoOoOo


	8. Chapter 7

**Happy Harry Universe**

Adelaide let out a pained shout as she was thrown to the floor of the sitting room in Potter Manor. She knew immediately that something was off, but with the throbbing pain in her head, she wasn't sure what it was.

"Fuck," someone said from next to her. When she rolled her head to the side, she spotted Regulus. He wasn't hers, but she thought he might be Mia's. "Damn it!"

"This is getting increasingly more painful," Adelaide said with a frown. It was only when she looked up again that her eyes cleared enough to see a group staring down at her with their wands out. "If any of you hex me, I'm gonna be so pissed."

"Where did Cassiopeia go?" Regulus - the Regulus of the universe they were in - asked them, eying his alternate self.

Adelaide raised an eyebrow at him. "She was here? What'd she tell you?"

"Not much," he replied, still not moving his wand away. "That she's from an alternate universe and that Harry and Hermione are there."

"If she has been here, I doubt she went back there," M.P Regulus commented, pulling himself to his feet. He offered Adelaide a hand and she took it gratefully and did her best not to grip onto it. She missed her husband and this Regulus was far too similar to him for her comfort.

"Which one is this?" Adelaide asked curiously.

"She called it the 'Happy Harry' one," Regulus said with a raised eyebrow. Adelaide snorted and nodded.

"I guess we're more alike than I thought if we both dubbed it that."

"I'd like to know what the hell is going on," James demanded, startling her. He stood behind her with Lily, who Adelaide stared at silently.

"Oh," she whispered. "Lily."

"Not now," M.P Regulus told her as gently as he could while so tense. "We should explain what we know."

"She's dead," Adelaide told him quietly. "I couldn't even try to save them. It would've changed time, Reg."

M.P Regulus grimaced. "She's dead in my universe, too, Adelaide, but we need to get home. Mia could be dying."

Adelaide glanced at him and saw his deep worry. With a small nod, she looked around. "What did Cassiopeia say?"

"Nothing we believe," Lily said firmly.

"Let's just do this the easy way, then," Adelaide sighed. "I can't take more Veritaserum for another six hours without poisoning."

"Veritaserum! Great idea," James decided, earning a glare from both Regulus's.

"We will not be poisoning anyone today," Regulus told him.

"I swear on my wand and magic that we're from another universe and are, for whatever reason, hopping between universes," Adelaide told them, holding her wand in the air. They all watched as it lit up to verify her words. "Good?"

"So Harry is-,"

"Fine, last I saw him," Adelaide confirmed. "Very bored."

"But he's actually in another universe?" Lily asked, her voice soft and afraid. "How do we get him back?"

"I'm more concerned about how we're jumping universes," M.P Regulus told them. "The last one I was in, there were three of us. Now two?"

"It was just Avery and I," Adelaide shrugged. "But we were in 1976 in Alexia's universe, so that might have something to do with it."

"You were in the past?" Regulus asked her with a frown. "Why?"

"We think it's because Alexia got pulled from her stint in the 70s," Adelaide shrugged. "Did fuck up a little and tell her James that she's from the future, but whatever."

"Adelaide!" M.P Regulus exclaimed. "She's already ruining time as is, you don't need to help her!"

"I didn't do it on purpose!" she defended quickly. "He's her _twin_, Regulus, I assumed she already told him! Bloody Lucius Malfoy knew!"

"Twin," James repeated, completely lost. The fighting pair glanced at him together.

"Just like Mia, Alexia was placed with your family when she got to the 70s," M.P Regulus explained quickly. "But Alexia got there in the early 70s while Mia got there in '76."

"Apparently, you're super close," Adelaide shrugged. "When I got to Potter Manor, you knew I wasn't Alexia because you couldn't feel the twin bond."

"None of this is the point," M.P Regulus reminded them. "I don't know where Mia is, if she's safe, or if she can even get ahold of the potions she needs to keep her out of a bloody coma."

"Avery's probably losing it," Adelaide agreed with a sigh. "Probably thinks I'm gonna go Dolohov hunting or some dumb shit."

"He's dead here," Regulus told her. Adelaide smiled a little.

"I knew my mind felt too light. I like this universe."

"What do we do?" Sirius asked them. "How do we get them back?"

"Research," Adelaide sighed. "Like they were going to do. Do you guys have access to Grimmauld Place and Black Manor?"

"Yes," Sirius said slowly. "No one has been to Grimmauld Place in years, though."

"Is your mother still on the wall?" she asked, making a face. He blinked at her.

"Is my- what? No. What?"

"Oh, that's good," she breathed out in relief. "In my universe, she put a portrait of herself on the wall with a permanent sticking charm and we cannot get her off. You suggested Fiendfyre and I sort of agreed but Reg refuses to let us destroy the place. Harry seems to think a simple makeover will help the place, but I doubt any amount of pretty decor will disguise the dark magic running through there. Reg really needs to let that place go."

"We grew up there," Regulus told her. Both she and M.P Regulus turned to stare at him.

"And you _enjoyed_ that?"

"Can we get back to bringing my son home?" James asked sharply, interrupting them.

"Right, yeah, sorry. I'm not going into Black Manor again. The last time I was there, Arcturus dug into my mind and took all of my memories without my permission. As much as that saved my life in the end, I don't really like the place much anymore."

"Merlin's sake," Lily said, her eyes wide. "That's illegal!"

"And why Sirius and Regulus insisted I go home with James," Adelaide shrugged. "But we should focus on fixing this, James is right. I can't imagine how bad it is for other people."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

**Mia Potter's Universe**

Alexia was shocked but mostly annoyed when she was tossed into another universe and back to Potter Manor. Luckily for her, Regulus was also tossed back to Potter Manor as he'd previously moved to Grimmauld Place.

"Lexi," he groaned, moving over to her. She pouted up at him.

"I didn't do it that time!" she swore, grabbing his hand to stand up. Instead of answering her, he just pulled her into a tight hug. "What's this for?"

"You scared me," he told her quietly, looking her over. "You're okay?"

"I'm fine," she promised, pressing a kiss to his lips. "Are you?"

"I just want to get home."

The door to the sitting room they'd ended up in opened and the group of people ready to walk in stopped abruptly at the sight of them. Alexia just breathed out in relief when she felt her twin bond snap back into place.

"Oh, thank Merlin," she breathed, looking at James. "My mind was starting to hurt pretty bad without you."

"Ew, you're bonded to _James_?" Sirius asked her.

"What?" Alexia screwed up her face in disgust. "Ew! No! He's my brother, you prat!"

"Thank fuck," James breathed out in relief.

"Language," Dorea scolded from behind her son. Alexia's face lit up at the sight of her parents. Behind them was a man she recognized.

"Who called Croaker?" she asked, already annoyed.

"We may need his help." Regulus reminded her gently. "We don't know why those runes work the way they do."

"I'd accept help from Bill, not Croaker," she told her boyfriend firmly. "Did I tell you that Dumbledore told him I'm from the future without asking me first? That was at least three years ago. He's written me monthly since then asking to do tests."

"Interesting," Croaker commented absently. He was waving his empty hand at them as he entered the room with James, Sirius, and their parents. "Their magic reads very differently from our own!"

"You guys are from the same… place?" James asked them. The two nodded.

"We got pulled out of the 70s for this bullshit," Alexia told him bitterly. Her gaze softened a little as she looked at him. He was a few years older than her James but very much alive. "You're dead in most universes-,"

"Alexia," Regulus interrupted sharply. "Be careful. You'll have another episode if you're not."

"Oh, right."

"Episode?" Croaker asked curiously. Both Alexia and Regulus fixed him with a glare. "It may be important!"

"Dolohov, Avery, and Yaxley cursed me," she said shortly. "Now I have episodes of amnesia."

"And my being dead triggers them?" James asked her curiously.

"You're my brother," she said with a small sigh. Regulus grabbed her hand, and she held it tightly within her own, thankful to have him there. "My best friend, and we're closer than anything. You're… you are dead in the future in my universe and-,"

"Her last episode, the biggest and most suppressive one she's ever had was triggered when she told me about your death," Regulus explained for her. "She still wouldn't remember me or her five years in my time if Avery from another universe hadn't helped her."

"Fucking hurt, too," Alexia nodded. "But now I can remember how Jamie annoyed Peeves a month ago and Peeves dropped a bucket of mud on his homework in the middle of study hall for it."

"You gave him the idea for that," Regulus accused. Alexia's lips twitched.

"He kept interrupting Lily while she tried to study," she shrugged. "She was going to hex one of us for it, so I promised her I'd get him back for it. It really isn't fair that she yells at me for what _her_ boyfriend does."

"Your brother," Regulus pointed out.

"Sirius is your brother, do you want me to hex you every time he pisses me off? Because it's been a lot lately, Reg. That's a risk to your safety."

"Hey, I'm innocent in this!" Sirius exclaimed. James smacked his arm.

"So am I!"

Croaker waved his hands in the air next to him and a few lines lit up, sort of like a heartbeat - or multiple heartbeats. "This top one is my magical signature. Notice how it pulses longer than that of these two here."

"What does that mean?" Alexia wondered. To her surprise, it was James that answered her.

"These lines are usually used to see if someone is actually dead," he explained. "It's sort of like a heartbeat except it doesn't flatline, it just disappears - the magic went somewhere else and the person doesn't have it anymore. I've seen a lot of these in my time as a Hit Wizard and they all look like Croaker's. Yours seems… more erratic."

"Which is all to say that you are definitely in the wrong universe," Croaker finished, waving the lines away. In place, he pulled up a large, pulsing… thing. It was just orange in the air with room taken out for what used to be his magical signature. If he'd cast the spell to show his magic signature again, they'd fit together perfectly. "See how mine fits directly in here?"

"Yes?"

"Well…" he put their signatures into the hole in the orange and they caught onto how they clashed and rubbed uncomfortably against one another. "You don't fit here. Try doing magic."

Alexia exchanged a glance with Regulus and lifted her hand. She quickly cast the blood shield that she'd finally mastered. It was strong to her, but she knew a perfect way to test it. "Someone throw a _Crcuio_ at me."

"_What_?" Regulus and Sirius exclaimed together. Despite their shock, Croaker did as she said. Regulus grabbed her when the curse passed through her shield and hit her.

"What the _fuck_, Alexia?"

Alexia winced, both from the pain and the fact that he'd used her full name, something no one did except for usually Dolohov. "Pollux and I tested this shield. It protects against everything except the Killing Curse."

"What?" he asked sharply, looking her over as if he could tell if she'd died. "You didn't die. I didn't have to bring you back."

"Yeah, Alphard got there and freaked out, too. The family magic saved me, though. All good," she promised and pecked his cheek. Her glance shifted to Croaker, who looked far too intrigued. "So what does that mean, our magic isn't as strong here?"

"Well… I would say it's more like our collective magic in this universe is trying to bully your magic into adjusting to being here. So, yes, your magic is likely weaker and will probably continue to weaken with its inability to adjust."

"What will happen?" Charlus asked, concerned. "Will they be okay?"

"No clue!" Croaker exclaimed with a smile. "Isn't this exciting?"

OoOoOoOoOoOo

**Black Sibling Universe**

Sirius let out a groan when the bright light faded away, leaving him dizzy and in Potter Manor. It took him a second to realize that there were people all around him, plus one equally unsteady man with bright red hair - Fabian. "Well, shit."

"Sirius," Tonks exclaimed. She was wearing her Auror robes and seemed stressed. "Thank fuck, we're a bit lost here."

"Am I _home_?" he asked, excited. "Cassie and Reg, are they-,"

"No," Daniel told him, prompting him to turn around. "Another girl, Amelia, was here. As far as we can tell, they left and it's just you two."

"Damn it," Fabian muttered to himself. "Damn it!"

"We have to get them back," Sirius told them anxiously. "I don't know where Cassie, Harry, or Reg are."

"The first thing we need to do," Andromeda began calmly. "Is figure out how this is happening. Do you think they may be in danger?"

"We have no way of knowing," Sirius pressed. "There's different dangers in different universes."

"I still can't wrap my head around the idea of alternate universes," Draco added, gaining attention. "How many are there?"

"The multiverse is potentially limitless," Remus told him. "We have no way of knowing where they are or what's happening there."

"Thanks, Moony," Sirius snapped. "Love to think of my family dying in a wasteland universe."

"Are we not gonna discuss the not-so-dead Prewett there?" Blaise asked lazily. A few people glanced at him but no one answered, not even Fabian.

"So what do we do, then?" Theo asked nervously. "What do we do now?"

"Not sure, kid," Sirius answered with a deep breath. "But we gotta do something."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

**Golden Trio Universe**

"What the fuck happened _now_?" A.S Harry asked, glancing around at the people who had returned to the universe. It looked like every version of Harry and Ron plus one Hermione, Salazar, Sirius, and Draco.

"It looks like more have returned!" Croaker exclaimed excitedly. "Oh, wonderful!"

"How about we take a break from the tests?" Bill suggested, eyeing the returned group in front of them. Many looked frustrated and confused and all of them were trying to figure out who was with who. "Hey, everyone! Let's take a deep breath. We need to know who is still missing. There's lists on each table with who you came with in the first place. Please circle the names of whoever you're missing."

It took them a good thirty minutes before that had happened. Everyone was clearly tired and upset and out of it, so it took them some time to get things together. Once they had, however, the lists were copied and given to Bill, Charlie, and Croaker.

"Well," Croaker hummed to himself. "Either someone wants many Harry Potters and many Ron Weasleys in one universe, or they want to separate these people from their friends and any help they can get."

"None of that sounds good," Charlie admitted. "What can we… do?"

"Nothing," Croaker answered far too cheerfully. "Nothing at all!"

OoOoOoOoOoOo

**Adelaide Snape's Universe**

It was, truthfully, becoming exhausting for everyone. When F. Hermione and M.P Avery got to Adelaide's universe, they went through the same process of explaining who they were and ensuring that everyone around them was safe. Luckily, F. Hermione was able to provide them with an answer to their questions.

"So… Theo Nott told you to read it and you _did_?" Ginny asked from the table across from Hermione.

"I trust him," Hermione defended sharply. "He said he made sure it couldn't do it again. Obviously, he was wrong. I'm sure they're working on it now."

"So what are we supposed to do?" Regulus asked, frustrated. He was pacing and had been doing so for some time at that point.

"It doesn't sound like a good idea to mess with the book again," Gideon sighed, rubbing his face with his hand. "It sounds more complicated than I know how to handle. Let's just wait for Bill to get over here and hand it off to him."

"So we just… what? Wait?" Avery asked, glancing around. When they all just shrugged, he let out a noise of frustration and stepped out of the room.

"Great, a moody Avery," Sirius muttered with an eyeroll. "Just what we need."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

**Amelia Black's Universe**

Cassiopeia, to her great relief, fell into the new universe right next to her brother, who had already been there. When she felt their bond snap back into place, she gasped and managed to wrap Regulus up in a tight, somewhat panicked hug. "Thank _Merlin_ you're here. I didn't think I could be so scared to be away from you and Sirius."

"I'm okay," he assured her, squeezing her tightly. "Are you? Where'd you go, Cas?"

"Fine," she promised. "I was in this universe where you don't even know me and you held me at wandpoint, which was almost funny, but it was awful. James and Lily were there, Reg, and they have this daughter and they're a _family_."

Regulus grimaced and hugged her tighter. He could easily feel over their bond just how much it had hurt her to see them like that without her and hated once more that her life had gotten so messed up.

"Not your fault," she muttered. "Blame Orion or fucking Voldemort."

"Is he even going to remember we're here?"

Both siblings spun around together and had their wands out at the same time, pointed at Sirius and the Regulus of that universe, who also had their wands out and pointed at them.

"Freaky," Sirius commented. He looked hard and cold and both of them knew it was because someone he loved was potentially in danger. "Do you know where Amelia is?"

Cassiopeia shared a look with her brother. "The last we saw her was when we sent her to Potter Manor in that universe we were all in, right, Reg?"

"I've been here for a while," he explained to her before glancing at the other men. "She's my sister. She wants to help figure this out as much as I do."

Sirius looked between them and lowered his wand. Instead of saying anything, he just left the room, obviously angry and frustrated. In his place, the Regulus of that universe let out a slow breath and looked between them.

"You mentioned James and Lily?"

"It's nothing," Cassiopeia waved him off. "Not important."

"We're stuck here, Cas," C.B Regulus told her carefully. "We don't know what's causing this. You might as well go see them."

"We're in another universe," she argued gently. "It's not their responsibility to make me feel better about… my life."

"They would appreciate hearing from someone else that their son is safe," Regulus told her quietly. "If you can do that, they may be willing to help you as well."

Cassiopeia bit her lip, avoiding their gaze. As much as she wished she could see them, be a family with them, she also knew she'd never have that and that alone bothered her greatly.

"Cassie," C.B Regulus touched her arm. "You won't get this chance again. Go talk to them."

Cassiopeia nodded slowly and sucked in a sharp breath. "Where are they?"

Regulus was the one to lead her to the nervous couple, who sat in a room with Remus. He seemed to be attempting to comfort them, and it made her more nervous. Her brother stayed outside the room while his alternate self quickly opened the door for her and waved her in. Hesitantly, she stepped inside.

"Oh," Lily breathed, glancing at her. "Oh, you're not- you look so much like Amelia."

"Both closely related to Sirius," Cassiopeia offered with a weak smile. "It happened again. I don't know who else was here, but the Regulus that's here, he's my brother. I'm Cassiopeia."

"He mentioned you," James said.

Looking between the couple, Cassiopeia wasn't sure she could do it. They were so scared for their son and niece that she wasn't sure she wanted to ask them to give her closure as well. Just when she glanced back at the closed door, she felt a gentle nudge from her brother through the bond. "Um… last I saw, Harry was safe. I'm sure he still is. In most universes, he's pretty untouchable from Voldemort and his followers. Biggest danger is probably the Wizengamot."

"But how do we know? Did you hear of any dangerous universes?"

Cassiopeia genuinely considered the question. "No, not for him really. Mostly me. I'm sure he's fine. A few of those universes, the war had already ended, so he might not even have to worry about that!"

"The war ended in '81," Remus cut in. "He doesn't have to worry about it here."

"Er- good," Cassiopeia winced. "In my universe, he's got the entire Potter Alliance on his side, and they wouldn't dare touch him. We were in the middle of the Atrium in the ministry when we were pulled here."

"Thank you," Lily breathed out slowly. She still looked clearly stressed, but also a little more certain of her son's safety. "The potential for him to be in danger is terrifying."

Cassiopeia smiled sadly. "Do you guys have any other kids?"

"We wanted to try, but we couldn't," James told her. "Why?"

"Ah," she winced, stepping closer. "In my universe… um, Orion put me up for adoption because Voldemort wanted to kill me, or keep me- we're not entirely sure. I was three months old."

"_Three months old_?" Lily repeated sharply, horrified. "You were a baby!"

Cassiopeia shrugged but smiled at her. "It's because I accidentally went to the past a few months ago. Voldemort found me, figured out who I am and had Regulus- um, he tried to have me killed. It didn't work and I escaped with my brother, who was supposed to die that day. I took him to the future with me. That's why he's here, why we have the bond we have."

"Regulus tried to kill you?" James asked, horrified. Cassiopeia made a face and sat on the arm of the couch that Remus was on.

"He didn't know who I was," she explained. "I was glamoured… actually, you glamoured me."

"_Me_?"

She nodded hesitantly. With a deep breath, she continued. "It was… actually you guys that adopted me from Orion, so when Dolohov sent me to the past, I was sent to you. You healed me up and we talked a bit and… um, you promised to add me to your wills… but you died, so Harry and I grew up raised by Petunia-,"

"No," Lily gasped, her hand coming to cover her mouth in horror. "She's terrible! Oh, no…"

"Sirius has us now," she offered. "We're okay now. I separated the three of them and Obliviated them so they don't remember Harry or I or even magic or… you."

"Lily hasn't been in contact with her sister since… when was it?" James asked with a small frown as he rubbed his wife's back.

"Just before graduation," Remus offered softly. Lily nodded along.

"She got married. I went but she was just awful to me, so I decided that was it. How on earth did she get ahold of you two? I never would've-,"

"Dumbledore did it," Cassiopeia interrupted quickly. "He destroyed the wills that included me to keep Harry and I apart, pushed anti-werewolf laws so that Remus couldn't be the Potter regent and take care of us, and he did everything he could to keep Sirius in Azkaban when I was working on having him freed."

"_Azkaban_?"

"Oh, right," she shook her head with a frown. "You're so different from us… um, when you died, Sirius was accused of betraying you to Voldemort because you suddenly switched secret keepers without telling anyone. After you died, he was caught trying to find or kill the man that did betray you. He was in Azkaban until he broke out before our third year. I found him in the Forbidden Forest one night and Daniel and I worked really hard to help him become a free man. It wasn't long after that when he got custody of Harry and we figured out I was adopted. That following summer was when he finally got custody of me as well."

"That's…" James shook his head. "That's not the life you should've had. If we adopted you, we loved you. We wanted the best for you, just like Harry."

"The last universe I was in," she smiled a little. "You two had a daughter. When you adopted me, you know, Orion twisted my core with a glamour and I had red hair and green eyes. This girl… she looked just like I did."

"That must've been hard," Lily said, her eyes swimming with sympathy. "I'm sorry we weren't there."

Cassiopeia shrugged a little. "I didn't really want to come in here, but both my brother and your Regulus were very insistent that I did and I'm glad. For whatever reason, my life is the way it is. I'm just glad… that in more than one universe, I can know you have a family, you're alive, and you're happy. Maybe there's a universe out there where you lived to raise me. That would be nice."

"You know," James said with a small grin. "Raising Sirius's temper and attention span would be _hell_."

"I do not have a temper!" Cassiopeia exclaimed, immediately offended. When he just laughed, she blushed. "Sirius is much worse than I am. He wanted to kill Dolohov after I got back and he remembered what happened. _That's_ a temper."

"_Dolohov_," Lily repeated. "He was nasty. You fought him?"

Cassiopeia bit the inside of her cheek.

_Cassie? Are you okay?_

_Come save me, please._

"He's a Death Eater," she shrugged, avoiding their gaze. Luckily, her brother had stayed right outside and stepped into the room. She relaxed a great deal when he came to stand next to her. "I'm sure we'll figure all of this out soon."

"Okay, that was a pretty abrupt ending to our conversation," James told her, more curious than before. She supposed it was probably in his nature to question curious things. "What happened?"

Cassiopeia looked at C.B Regulus with slight panic. Explaining the whole Dolohov situation again to people she wouldn't see again after that entire mess ended was not high on her to-do list. "Um…"

"I don't see how it's important," C.B Regulus told James stiffly. "He isn't here, is he?"

"_Who_? You weren't in the room!"

"We've got a twin bond," Cassiopeia offered. "So he usually sort of knows what I'm thinking. Most of our conversation hasn't exactly been private."

"Interesting," Lily commented with a small smile. "You're not actually twins, are you?"

"No," C.B Regulus confirmed. "It was ignited when we swore and sealed blood fealty to one another. It was sealed not too long after."

"Fascinating! I didn't know you could have a twin bond without being actual twins!"

Thankfully, the conversation shifted into discussing twin bonds and, later, other types of bonds. It was very purposeful on Lily's part and very appreciated on Cassiopeia's.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

**Alexia Potter's Universe**

**1976**

"_Motherfucker_," Mia cursed loudly as she dropped painfully to the ground in a very familiar room. Staring up at the ceiling, she knew she was in her bedroom in Potter Manor. It seemed to be decorated somewhat differently, but it was definitely hers.

"Lexi- oh."

Mia pushed herself up and spotted James and Sirius standing in the door together, both looking disappointed. "Wow, I've never seen you two look so sad to see me. It's usually 'you could have died, Mia, thank Merlin you're alive!' Or 'I'll see you in twenty years, good luck' or 'have fun killing Voldemort, we'll be way back here not even bothering to make sure Regulus is fine.'"

"She's snarky," Sirius complained with a pout. "I miss Lexi."

Mia made a face at them. "Am I in _Alexia's_ universe?" at their nods, she rolled her eyes. "My luck, honestly. So by your young states, I'd assume this is mid to late seventies?"

"1976," James answered. "You're from the future, too, huh?"

"Yep. I even managed to save you while I was here. Saved lots of people. It was nice except for the torture and death and shit. You guys haven't seen a version of Regulus that's probably super anxious and angry, maybe poking his ribs or something?"

"Uh… no?"

Mia spotted another person coming to a stop behind her brothers and raised an eyebrow. "Fuckin _Malfoy_? What the fuck sort of life does she live here? Fucking with time, bonded to the wrong fucking person-,"

"Hey!" Sirius exclaimed. "Back off."

Mia rolled her eyes. "Whatever. What is Malfoy doing here?"

"Who is she?" Lucius asked, eyeing some of her scars. When his eyes lingered on the bite mark on her neck, she frowned and rubbed it absently.

"Mia Potter," she answered quietly, uncomfortable with the way he eyed her. "Different universe. Alexia and I… _disagree_ on a few things involving Sirius."

"Fucking with time- what, you _don't_ want her to stop me from dying?" he asked, offended. Mia made a face and pushed her sleeve up.

"No, you idiot, I disagree with how she's doing it," she said, showing them her arm. Lucius was the only one that recognized it and she did her best not to curse him when he grabbed her arm and touched the bond mark.

"That is… extremely dark," he told her slowly before his eyes slipped to her neck. "Is that how-,"

"_No_," she snapped, her eyes flashing a bit brighter. "That was fucking Dolohov, so unless you want to hear a really fucking nasty story, I'd leave it if I were you."

"Dolohov?" James asked softly, reaching out to touch the scar. As much as she wanted to shift the attention away from it, she also didn't want to snap at him. "He's never… done anything like _that_ to Ash. He bit you?"

"Amongst other things, yes," she nodded, sighing a bit. "This isn't important."

"It might be," Sirius decided, much to her dismay. "What if some Dolohov in one of these universes is doing this? You know, on purpose."

"I haven't seen Dolohov since our fight during the final battle when he gave me this scar," she told them. "Adelaide said she hasn't seen him since her wedding night. Cassiopeia- I don't fucking know. My numerous scars and injuries from him have nothing to do with this."

"Why'd he do it?" James asked quietly. Mia could see the deep worry in his eyes and breathed out slowly. She didn't like Alexia, but she loved James and he was scared.

"It's not a nice story," she warned. When all three of them waved her on, she moved to sit on the ledge by the window and crossed her legs. "I got to the past in 1976 with my friend Fred. It wasn't long before I ran into Dolohov. He slapped my arse, so I slapped him and got away. Regulus told me that night that he came back to the common room raging about how he was going to kill me."

"_He slapped your arse_?"

Mia let out a small, humorless laugh. "He did a lot more than that…. Ah, the next run in with him was in the library. He and Rabastan cornered Mary and were going to- I don't really know. I stunned them and then put a stinging hex on them both."

"Good!" James nodded firmly. Mia shrugged.

"I don't regret helping her - Regulus is still pissed about it and it's one of the many Dolohov related topics we still argue about - but not long after that, my friends and I were doing some research in the library. I'd gone to the restricted section alone and Dolohov and Rabastan cornered me there and told me how they'd been attacked in the library. Dolohov hit me with a _Sectumsempra_. He was obviously trying to kill me."

"How did you survive?" Lucius asked her. She figured he probably was trusted since James and Sirius weren't making a big deal of his presence.

"The friends I mentioned were Regulus - we were dating already actually - and Severus and Avery. I gave Reg a bracelet that, if I was in danger, would light up and give him my location. He used that to find me and Sev figured out pretty quickly what had happened. He saved my life."

"Did he do anything else?" Sirius wondered quietly. Mia spotted another girl - the Hermione from the universe they'd all gathered in, she thought - walking into the room quietly. Aside from offering her a small smile, she didn't much acknowledge her.

"Let's see… he threatened me during the ball and bruised my hips a little. After that, he tortured me a bit in a classroom but Dodd saved me right before Reg got there, so I was fine. Then…"

"You don't have to tell them," Hermione told her, startling all three boys. Mia met her gaze and shrugged.

"Would you rather not know what he can do? Do you regret me telling you?"

"Who the hell is _this_?"

"I'm glad you told me," Hermione agreed softly. "But you don't look like you're okay."

Mia glanced down at herself. To her surprise, she'd begun shaking terribly and was in a great deal more pain than she'd realized. "Oh, right. That's not a big deal, I just missed my potions and might fall into a coma. Nothing to do with Dolohov. Well- well, actually, sort of, but it was mostly Voldemort. Actually, I'd say like half of it was Voldemort, the other half was Dolohov and Bellatrix."

"Merlin, what potions do you need?" Sirius asked her nervously. "We'll get them for you."

"I'll give you a list," she assured him. "Let me finish first."

"Okay…"

"The next thing that happened was that for multiple reasons, Voldemort had me captured. Regulus and I got into a fight and I turned off the tracker that told him if I was in danger. He only knew when- when he felt me being tortured. Voldemort had Bellatrix and Dolohov torture me for about five days before I was… I couldn't take it anymore. I passed out and he managed to open my eyes and slip into my mind. He knew I was the Light Lady destined to kill him and that I had the time turner he was looking for.

"So after he knew I had to die, he gave me to Dolohov under the condition that he at least kill me by the end of the night. Once Dolohov was done with me, he hit me with _Sectumsempra_ until I died."

"Fuck," James whispered quietly and grabbed the wall. "Shit. And this Dolohov here, he's… he can do that?"

"According to your sister, no," Mia shrugged. "She says they're civil. She _trusts_ him. I don't get how she got the one with fucking boundaries. The rest of us go through _hell_ with him and she just gets, what, his curse? We've all fucking survived that."

"On that train of thought, why did that version of Harry have his parents growing up?" Hermione cut in. "Why didn't mine or yours or Adelaide's? Because it's the multiverse, Mia. The fact that Alexia has a nice version of him doesn't affect you or I at all, so don't act like it. Throwing a- a fit over the unfairness is just childish. It's unfair that we're fighting a war, isn't it? But we can't change it, can we?"

"I guess not," Mia muttered, mostly to herself. "But things are fucked here, Hermione."

"It's _different_," Hermione corrected. "To me, your universe is messed up. I've never gone to the past, I don't swear, and I don't practice dark magic or dark blood bonds, but you do. It's the _multiverse_. Of course it's different."

"I can still bloody complain about it."

"I don't think we could stop you if we tried."

OoOoOoOoOoOo


	9. Chapter 8

**Founder's Universe**

Amelia stumbled upon appearing in the new universe, this time in Grimmauld Place. Luckily for her, Theo was standing right by and grabbed onto her. Unluckily for her, when he touched her, he felt their bond ignited and jumped back in surprise, letting her continue her fall to the floor. "Ow."

It was Blaise, who was closest to her now that Theo had moved back about five feet, that helped her up. "Okay there, Granger?"

"I'm a Black," she raised her eyebrow. "I'm fine."

"What the _hell_ was that?" Theo asked her sharply. At the sound of his voice, her eyes widened and she turned to look at him.

"Oh, thank Merlin," she breathed. "I missed you."

"What happened?" Rowena asked them curiously.

"I felt… a bond of some sort," Theo answered her, though she stared at Amelia. "What was it?"

Amelia shifted, suddenly aware that she was in the wrong universe again. When she'd felt the bond spark, she'd just assumed she was home again even despite Blaise's words. "I'm in the wrong universe?"

"Definitely," Draco said lazily.

"Ah… in my universe, I'm bonded to my Theo."

"Hermione and I aren't bonded," he told her seriously.

"You wouldn't have truly felt it like that if you weren't," she shrugged. "Have you ever kissed? Touched in any intimate way?"

"They cannot," Godric said sharply, startling almost everyone. At the confused stare he got from Blaise and Amelia, he sighed. "She has been cursed. While we find a cure for her, no one can touch her in any sort of romantic way."

"Well, fuck," Blaise said, patting Theo on his shoulder. "You're fucked."

"I'm not bonded to her!" Theo insisted. "I have a contract written up. I'm to marry Daphne Greengrass."

"You can marry her, but you can't bond with her," Draco pointed out. "Sounds like Granger's your soulmate."

The door slammed open and A.S Avery stepped inside and scanned the room. "Adelaide isn't here?"

"I haven't seen anyone else but you," Amelia offered. "Have you seen Draco?"

"No."

"So you're a Black? By birth?" Draco asked Amelia. She glanced at him and nodded.

"How else would I be?"

"Adoption," he said as if it were obvious. "Sirius adopted Hermione."

"He's my father," she told them, showing them her heir ring. She also had a Potter bracelet on the same arm, which didn't escape notice.

"And the Potter bracelet?"

She shrugged and touched it out of habit. "Dad, Uncle Regulus, and Narcissa raised me, Draco, and Harry with Aunt Lily and Uncle James, plus Grandma and Grandpa."

"Orion and Walburga?" Remus asked in disbelief. Amelia shook her head.

"No, of course not. I mean Charlus and Dorea Potter. They adopted Dad when he was a teenager. The entire family sort of raised us all together and we live in Potter Manor together. It's a group effort."

"Sirius as a father," Remus shook his head. "I can't imagine it. He was terrified when he thought Hermione wanted him to be her father."

"Padfoot is my favorite person aside from Uncle Regulus," Amelia defended. "He's a wonderful father."

"Two questions," Blaise said with a small smirk. "First, you like your uncle better than your own father? And second, who's your mum?"

Amelia shifted a little, uncomfortable. "I love them equally, but Uncle Regulus listens to me at times Padfoot won't. As for my mother… Marlene McKinnon, according to Dad. She sort of lost it after they had me. It's… a long story."

"Marlene was fierce," Remus told her softly. "And kind. She was a saint for putting up with Sirius as much as she did."

"That's what you told me," Amelia said, her lips twitching into a reluctant smile. "Dad doesn't like to talk about her much aside from the facts because he gets upset."

"Is she still alive in your universe?" Theo asked her hesitantly. "I know she died here."

"Um… no, she isn't. How did she die here?"

"Marlene and her entire family were killed by Death Eaters in 1980," Remus told her. "What happened for you?"

"Her family was killed," Amelia confirmed slowly. "I was around six months old at that point. Dad said she had something called postpartum depression and when she heard her family died… she had some sort of breakdown. Dad came home one night to… she tried to kill both of us. He had to kill her to make sure she wouldn't hurt me."

"Fuck," Blaise muttered. "Shit."

"I'm so sorry," Remus said with a sad smile. "I shouldn't have asked."

"I didn't know her," Amelia shrugged. "I have a wonderful family. Dad just hates talking about her. It's like that's all he can remember about her. You, Uncle James, and Aunt Lily tell me more about her sometimes. I know she wasn't the person that- that the war and depression turned her into. I don't hate her for what she did."

"Very mature," Helga told her with a proud smile. Amelia glanced at the three Founders and quickly shifted the conversation.

"What the _fuck_?"

"Yeah, that was our thoughts at first, too," Blaise assured her.

"Um," Theo said, taking in a shaky breath. "Well, at least we know _what_ is causing this."

"Yeah, on that topic," Draco said, shifting to glare at his friend. "You said it wouldn't send her anywhere."

"I also warned all of you before even coming over that I had no fucking clue if I could help," he reminded them. "What I did should have worked. There was absolutely no magic flowing in or out of that book. I'd propose that the book is a cover of sorts for whatever or whoever is doing this. Was Hermione reading this book when she left?"

"She went to throw her dagger at Sirius," Godric shook his head, gaining stares. "What?"

"_Why_ was Hermione stabbing Sirius?" Blaise asked with a laugh. "I'd love to see it."

"He was certain he could stop it," Godric shrugged. "I had complete faith in her. She's my best student with daggers!"

"Godric," Rowena sighed, shaking her head. "We do _not_ encourage students to stab anyone but clear enemies."

"But… it was good practice."

"No stabbing," Helga said firmly. "Especially not for Hermione. She's much too good at it."

"My point exactly! She knew better than to stab him somewhere dangerous!"

"I like them," Amelia laughed, glancing at the people that, in her universe, were her friends and family. "Think they'll teach me to handle daggers?"

"After this conversation?" Draco rolled his eyes. "No, probably not."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

**Happy Harry Universe**

"So, basically, we have no fucking clue?" Adelaide asked, staring at James, who shrugged helplessly.

"They burned a lot of the books from the library about ten years ago," he explained. "Anything too dark or that radiated dark energy was destroyed. An effort to clean up the House, according to Sirius."

"We're fucked," she muttered, placing her head down on the table. "At least I get to die in a universe with you in it. That's nice. But I don't have my husband, I don't have my other brother, or Harry, or Ginny, or anyone else I love."

"We can still figure it out, right?" he asked her, tense. "We have to figure this out."

"At this point," M.P Regulus said stiffly. "I think it's up to the others in the other universes to figure this out."

"So what do we do? Just wait?"

"I guess so."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

**Mia Potter's Universe**

"You didn't tell me," Regulus told her. Alexia laid with her head in his lap, staring up at him as he stroked her hair. "Why?"

"About what? The shield?" At his nod, she scrunched up her nose. "I didn't want another lecture. I know everyone thinks I'm stupid and reckless, but I'm not. Pollux swore that the family magic would stop it and I believed him. Aside from that, I knew you could bring me back. If we didn't have this bond and Arcturus hadn't sent the family magic with Pollux to protect me, I wouldn't have agreed."

"But you shouldn't have put yourself in a position that you could have died, Lexi."

"But it's important to know," she told him with a shrug. "What if I hadn't tested it before hand and just went off of our geuss during a battle? I really could have died and you would have to bring me back. That was the best way to figure it out."

"I'm scared for you," he told her as he began to gently stroke her cheek with his thumb. "Why can't you just be safe?"

"Reg… you're literally a Death Eater," she pointed out. "You're in danger, too, you know. You have to do things you don't want to do. All of this… hopefully it'll be over in a few years, you know, but for now we just have to deal with it."

Regulus let out a small sigh. "I suppose we can't do anything while we're stuck here."

"Yeah, by the way, what sort of shit luck sent me to _Mia_'s universe? I fucking hope she isn't in ours."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

**Black Sibling Universe**

It had been three hours since Sirius and Fabian had arrived and so far, nothing had happened. The group had tried coming up with theories and they'd all gotten frustrated. When they began snapping at one another, they separated for a break. It was probably for the best seeing as how Draco was on edge and, like Cassiopeia, pretty quick to hex someone.

"I think," Daniel said slowly. "We may need to discuss options in the circumstance that we do not get them back in a timely manner. How to explain this to the Wizengamot, who to tell, and how to excuse their absence while they're gone."

"We're going to get them back," Sirius snapped at the man. Daniel sighed.

"I know we will. But so far, they've been gone for around twelve hours in total and I think we need to come up with a… backup plan. Cassiopeia is meant to return to school tomorrow with Harry. What will we tell them?"

"Tell Snape the truth and let him figure it out," Sirius waved off the question. "He's figured it out so far."

"You think we should tell Snape that his favorite student, possibly the only person he cares for in the world, has been sent to another universe with no clear way of ever returning?"

"We'll get them back!" Sirius snapped, this time louder and angrier. For his own safety, Daniel nodded.

"My girls are coming over soon so they can put in their thoughts. I'll ask Snape to come as well."

"Whatever."

Daniel had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. While Sirius was acting a bit like a moody teenager, he also had to consider that the man had essentially lost the two kids he had custody over - his best friend's son, who was his godson and his nephew, and his own sister. Aside from them, he lost his brother, who he'd only gotten back recently and wasn't prepared to lose again. So, Daniel thought it was a bit understandable that Sirius was on edge. "I think talking to an Unforgivable about this might be a good idea. They may know more on this subject than we do."

"Are there any we trust?" Sirius asked with a sigh. "Any that won't try to kill us?"

"Croaker is pretty unshakable," Daniel suggested. "He was Switzerland in the last war. He just wanted to continue his work in peace."

"Great," Sirius nodded. "Call him."

"What will you do?"

"Work on explaining why the Boy Who Lived and his sister have gone missing in case it gets out," Sirius muttered. Daniel nodded and left the room, closing the door. Sirius needed privacy and time alone, which was understandable. Daniel could handle everything while the other man pulled himself together. They were friends and they'd helped each other before, so why not again?

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Snape was in his office when he got the call. He'd just found the Greengrass girls and was about to use his floo when it lit up and their father requested he come over as well. With a slight glare to the disappearing fire, he waved the girls through and then followed closely behind.

When Daniel, Lupin, and Narcissa all told him that Harry, Cassiopeia, and Regulus were all lost in another universe, he wanted to hex all of them. The only reason he believed them at all was the fact that Narcissa had joined in telling them and the way Draco, Theo, and Blaise were acting. Soon, he was about as stressed as they were.

"Bet this is fucking Cassie's fault," Astoria complained. While Daniel had left already to meet Croaker at the DOM, there were still plenty of adults in the room, including one that had known her since she was a very small child.

"Don't curse, dear," Narcissa scolded lightly.

"I don't think it's any of our faults," Fabian spoke up. "Adelaide wasn't doing anything when we got yanked there. She was just sitting with me and Avery and arguing with Harry."

"I will handle Dumbledore," Snape told them. He was clearly tense and stressed. He glanced at the kids, who had all moved together. "You will handle your DA."

"Sure," Draco scoffed. "Because they appreciate when Cassie's missing so much."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

**Golden Trio Universe**

"Have any of you tried using dark magic to pull someone to you?"

Everyone stared at Croaker like he was crazy.

"But it's dark magic!" C.B Ron argued immediately, earning a couple of eye rolls.

"I know just the spell," F. Salazar told Croaker. "One of my own creations of late."

"When did you make it?" F. Harry asked his father in surprise. "I thought you've been busy handling the school."

"I found the time to create a spell so that if something like the centaurs ever happens again, we can bring you straight to us."

"Brilliant!" Croaker exclaimed happily. "How does it work?"

"Cast the spell and think of whoever you want," F. Salazar told him. "It is overwhelmingly simple and dangerous in the wrong hands, which is why I had not told anyone of it. I would appreciate if everyone took vows not to use it or give it to anyone else."

Despite numerous protests, Croaker insisted that they take the Vows. When A.B Draco seemed particularly reluctant, Croaker decided to declare the situation a DOM emergency, which meant that refusing to take a Vow would lead to being Obliviated. Everyone cooperated pretty quickly after that.

Teaching them the spell was also pretty simple. F. Salazar had made it so that despite however drained he was, he could always call F. Harry to him, which meant that even first years would be able to handle it easily.

It was really when they decided to _use_ the spell that things went to shit.

It was, generally, chaos.

After a headcount and after searching Potter Manor, Black Manor, and Grimmauld Place, they realized that nearly everyone was back in that universe, just with six very noticeable absences.

Adelaide, Cassiopeia, Mia, Hermione, F. Hermione, and Alexia.

It led to one question, which no one had an answer to: if all of the girls were away, why were H.H Hermione and Amelia Black back in that universe?

"But why them?" F. Sirius asked as he paced, clearly close to losing it. "Why not my Hermione? Or the others ones that like to fight? Why these two?"

"I know," Charlie said, looking out at them as if it were obvious. "You guys really don't see it?"

"Tell us," M.P Regulus snapped, ready to hex someone.

"Well, it's obvious. What's different about these two? They haven't been through any of the shit the others have. Literally all of the others have been or are currently going through war while these two, it ended years ago for them. They live in a peaceful world."

As soon as he said it, it _was_ obvious.

"But why?" Amelia asked him. "Why just them? This all seems very… deliberate."

"Oh, I'm certain _someone_ is doing this on purpose," Croaker assured her. "Why is the question, isn't it?"

"And where are they now?" A.S Fabian added. "Are they safe?"

OoOoOoOoOoOo

**Alexia Potter's Universe**

**1976**

Alexia was lucky in that she fell into the same room as her brother. She immediately knew it was _her_ brother because he shouted her name and sped over to her. "Oh, Jamie, thank _Merlin_. I fucking miss you."

"Lex," he breathed, wrapping her up into a tight hug. "I was so worried. God, are you okay? Do you really remember me?"

"I'm good," she promised, squeezing him tightly. "I remember. I can't believe I'm _home_." James quieted and pulled away. The dark mood he was in so suddenly shocked her, and she looked him over. "Prongs?"

"You lied to me, Lex," he accused quietly. "For five years."

"_What_?" she blinked rapidly, confused. "No, I didn't. What are you talking about?"

"Yes, you did!"

"No, I-,"

"You're from the future!"

Alexia's breath caught in her chest and she thought for a second she might pass out. She saw the hurt and confusion on his face and felt her shoulders sag. "Did one of the others come? They told you?"

"I think her name was Adelaide," he confirmed. "She didn't mean to. She thought I already knew, Lex. She said when it happened for her, she told me."

"It's just… complicated," she whispered. "It's dangerous, Jamie. I need you to understand that if Voldemort ever knew I was from the future and got to me, he'd destroy my Occlumency walls easily. What I know ended the war- _this_ war. If he finds out, he'll kill me and change the future. He will _win_."

"Sirius knows," James told her, making her wince. "And fucking _Malfoy_, Lex."

"Yeah, that one gets me, too," Mia said from the door, startling Alexia. "Malfoy? _Really_?"

Alexia glared deeply at her. "Clearly our universes are pretty different."

"Don't get pissed at me for Adelaide's fuck up."

"Why did _you_ tell James?" Alexia asked her, this time much calmer and with less hatred. "It was just as dangerous for you."

Mia looked to James. "She's actually right, you know."

"I wouldn't tell anyone!"

"Neither would the person that Voldemort found out from," Mia shrugged. "He was loyal to me, in the end. It wasn't his choice. I didn't plan to tell _anyone_. That was all Fred. I got killed for too many people knowing, James. You want her death on your conscience? Because that's what it'll be."

"Why'd you tell so many other people, Lex?" James asked his sister. Alexia sighed tiredly.

"Sirius and Lucius were both accidents," she promised. "So was Remus. He overheard Lucius and I talking. Regulus saw one of my episodes that happened in your dorm. I said some pretty revealing things to Sirius, so I told him to tell Reg the truth so I could go to sleep. Mum told Pollux, and he let it slip to Alphard. Narcissa… she was there when I got hurt and had to die. We needed a ceremonial bowl and were in the Room, so I shifted the room to the one where I killed Goyle and she saw his body."

"Goyle," James repeated. "Adelaide said they're the ones that attacked you, Crabbe and Goyle. They were _here_?"

"Third year," she confirmed quietly. "In the final battle, which was where I left when I showed up at Hogwarts in '71, Goyle cast Fiendfyre when we were fighting in the Room. I thought… he'd died. We left the Room and the fire didn't spread, so we moved on. When Lucius and I made the Room into the Room of Hidden Things, the fire was still going, so we asked Sirius and Regulus to come help put it out. Then… Goyle was there. He was perfectly fine. I killed him."

"Merlin," James breathed, shaking his head. "But if so many people knew, why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I didn't want you to be in danger, too," she admitted quietly. "I told them things because I trust and love them, but I didn't tell you because I love you more than them, Jamie. I want you to be safe more than them."

"Aw, how sweet," Mia commented from the door, watching on lazily. Alexia shot her a dirty look.

"Is there a _reason_ you're here? Can you fucking leave?"

"Sure," Mia shrugged. "Just came to let you know that Adelaide is back."

Alexia took in a deep breath. As angry as she was about the slip, she also figured it was reasonable to assume she'd told her brother. "We shout talk. I haven't been in a universe with more than one of us since that first one."

"Hermione was just here," Mia rolled her eyes, clearly annoyed. "I am so _sick_ of her. Haven't been in one with three of us before, so something's happening."

"We'll be down in a minute," Alexia told her. Mia gave her a mock salute with an eye roll and left them alone. Once she was gone, Alexia grabbed James's hand within her own. "Are we okay? I know you're mad, but… it's hard, Jamie. I know a lot about the future, the future of people I love and care about and I can't do a damn thing about it without risking _everything_."

"I wish you'd told me," he said slowly. "But I think I get it."

Alexia pecked his cheek and, still holding his hand tightly within her own, pulled him out of the room and down to where Adelaide, Mia, Sirius, Lucius, Narcissa, Dorea, Charlus, Pollux, and Alphard had gathered. She blinked around at them all. "Merlin, this is dramatic. All of you? Really?"

"Oh," Narcissa gasped. She hurried over to hug Alexia tightly, and the girl let her.

"I'm _fine_," she promised. "These two aren't, though."

"Question," James said, poking his sister's shoulder. "What's with you and Mia?"

"Don't get them started," Adelaide interrupted. "_Please_. For everyone's sanity."

"We… very much disagree on how to save Sirius's life," Alexia said slowly, hoping not to ignite an argument about the matter. "Her idea involved a dark magic bond."

"But you have one with Regulus," James pointed out. "Why do you care now?"

"You can only bond like this with one person," Mia offered, though her voice didn't have as much bite as she wanted it to. "But to be fair, she did the Vow when she was younger, so she didn't even fucking _try_."

"Please," Adelaide groaned. "Not again."

"You don't look too good, dear," Dorea told Mia, who was gripping onto a wall to stay up. "Is everything alright?"

"Would be," Mia said with a bit of effort. "But the potions I need haven't been invented here yet, they're rare in Amelia's universe, and it had been about twelve hours since I'd taken them in my own universe, so-,"

"What she's trying to say is that I'm shutting down and she's about to fall into a coma," Hermione, Mia's magic, explained to everyone. "If she doesn't get back to our home or at least to our Regulus, she will die."

"Well, shit."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Mia had been moved to a guest room soon after that. While she was being looked over, Adelaide and Alexia both explained everything they knew, which was nothing more than they'd already been told. After a little bit of frustrated theorizing, the group had lunch and split up for a break.

Alexia wandered into Mia's room and shut the door behind her. Mia… did not look well. She looked like she'd undergone some terrible torture and even some dark curses. Shaking her head, Alexia sat down next to her bed. "Why aren't you healed?"

"It was me or Regulus," Mia answered quietly. "My magic told me I had to pick. I picked him."

"Do you think Regulus is… it for us? We should be with him?"

"What do _you_ think?" Mia wondered quietly. "You're dating him, right? How does it feel?"

"We haven't been together very long."

"Answer me."

Alexia sighed, staring down at her hands. "It feels nice. I feel safe and happy and… loved. If I didn't know about my bond with Sirius, I would assume Regulus would be my soulmate, that we'd be together… for a long time."

"I didn't have to obey the bond," Mia told her. "I could have gone and been with someone else forever and been happy. But it's _Regulus_. In my eyes, there's no one better for us ever. I mean, I don't support incest so maybe not Cassiopeia or Amelia, but you get the point. He's it, Alexia."

Alexia sighed and sat back. "He's going to die."

"So what? So are a lot of people. Didn't stop me from saving them, did it?"

"Who did you save?" she frowned.

"Regulus, Fabian, Gideon, Avery, and Jamie. I brought Sirius back, too."

Alexia sucked in a sharp breath. "You saved James."

"Was hell figuring it out, but I managed it. He's alive."

"I knew it, but… I guess it didn't really process," Alexia told her. "I saw him, I knew where I was, but… how did you do it?"

"Alexia, you don't want to-,"

"Please," she begged seriously. "I can't let him die. I can't be without him, Mia."

With a sigh, Mia nodded. "I need something to write with."

Quickly as she could, Alexia summoned her bag and, after strapping it across her shoulders, pulled out a muggle notebook and pen. Mia scrawled a few things down and handed it over to her. "What is this?"

"Those are the spells I used," she explained. "You need to get a time turner and use those spells to move the sands of time over to an item. I placed one sand in each ring. It took months, was extremely frustrating, and felt like I was letting a Horcrux into my soul. It was much easier to do without a wand, and you _have_ to do it with someone else around. Fabian was there while I was doing it. Regulus being there helped me stay calm."

"This can save James?"

Mia shrugged weakly. "I managed to make it work. You might be able to as well."

Alexia glanced down at the paper and back at the girl. "Thank you. Really."

"James doesn't deserve to die," she told her. "And as much as you get on my nerves, you don't deserve to lose your brother any more than I did."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

**Black Sibling Universe**

The three girls - Hermione, F. Hermione, and Cassiopeia landed in that universe at the same time and, unfortunately, the same place. It led to a small pile of the three of them trying to untangle themselves with a great deal of frustration.

"Cassie," Blaise exclaimed, grabbing her arm. When he tugged her to her feet, she wrapped her arms around him in relief, his familiar smell overwhelmingly comforting.

"Who are they?" Draco wondered from nearby. Cassiopeia released Blaise and turned around just in time to help the other girls up.

"Are you both okay?"

"We're fine," F. Hermione assured her, looking around. "This is yours?"

"Looks like it," Cassiopeia smiled softly. "I wonder why there are three of us this time. Last time, I was with Reg in Amelia's universe."

"Something is really wrong," Hermione agreed. "There has to be a reason this is happening."

"Can't we just stop to appreciate that she's back?" Astoria request, launching herself over to hug Cassiopeia.

"No," Daphne shook her head. "Because those two don't belong here and we're still missing Harry and Ron."

"Which makes me wonder why them," Theo added as Cassiopeia tried to get Astoria off of her rather unsuccessfully.

"It was the same for us," F. Hermione nodded. "All of us that got moved, that is."

"_I_ was stolen from my universe," Hermione said bitterly. "The one they all showed up in."

"So let's shift the question from 'how do we fix this?' to 'why is this happening?'" Daphne suggested. "What do the three of you have in common?"

It took a moment before Cassiopeia answered. "None of us have spent time in the past- well, extended time, I suppose."

"We're also the youngest," Hermione added.

"Alexia's sixteen," F. Hermione shook her head.

"No, she's older," Cassiopeia disagreed. "She said she de-aged herself when she got to the past. When she got there, she was 18 or so."

"So, what does that mean?" Draco asked them. The three girls exchanged a glance.

"We don't know."

"_Brilliant_."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Getting in touch with Croaker had been much more difficult than Daniel had expected, that was to be sure. It also meant that the meeting had to be in Grimmauld Place, which meant that Sirius would have to open up the floo and lighten the wards.

That was, if Sirius had still been in the universe. Upon getting back to Potter Manor, he was informed of a change. After speaking to the girls and giving Cassiopeia a quick check over - his scans said she was fine, much to his relief - he shooed the girls through the floo to Grimmauld Place and promised he'd be over in a minute.

Once they got there, Cassiopeia felt the full force of the wards rest on her and groaned under the weight of it. She removed the wards from the Floo and carefully set them to rest, preparing for visitors. Grimmauld Place was considerably safe as no one knew it existed outside of those they trusted.

She figured considering it safe was probably her fuck up.

"They're coming," Hermione told her. Cassiopeia sighed and followed her and F. Hermione into the sitting room near the front door where floo visitors came through. Daniel had to get all of the other kids back to Hogwarts, so he'd told her it might be a few minutes. He did warn her that Croaker would be coming by, so of course, that was who she expected.

It was not who she found stepping out of the fireplace.

Cassiopeia shot up a shield as strong as she could and found the other girls doing the same thing. He'd stopped immediately upon spotting her and his smirk was sickening. "If you don't leave, I'll suffocate you with the wards."

"I was sent over from the DOM, Black," he told her, much too happy. "Apparently, you're having a little trouble with universes."

"I will literally kill you."

The second he raised his wand, Cassiopeia tensed and the wards, sensing her fear, followed through with her threat. They focused on him and him alone, tightening more and more by the second.

"You'll kill him," Hermione told her quietly as his face paled. "Cassiopeia, you're killing him!"

"Shut her up," Cassiopeia requested of F. Hermione, who looked between them hesitantly. "He isn't welcome in any home of mine. We declared issue with his House. He knew the dangers in coming here."

"He's going to die!" Hermione exclaimed, jumping for her. F. Hermione grabbed her, surprising both of them.

Luckily for Dolohov, Cassiopeia was snatched from the universe first. After her was F. Hermione, and then Hermione. He stood there, gulping in air desperately, for a long minute before a bright light and deep pain overcame him, too.

OoOoOoOoOoOo


	10. Chapter 9

**Ruby Dolohov's Universe**

It had been a rather exhausting day, if she were being honest. It had been around sixteen hours since either Ruby or her husband had gotten any sort of a break from what they were doing. Neither of them trusted anyone else to handle either of their projects. Hers took, in her opinion, a great deal more work than that of her husband's.

"Are you ready?" he asked as he came to stand behind her. He began rubbing her shoulders, prompting her to roll her head back against him. "I have everything all set."

"I'm ready," Ruby confirmed softly. "She's sick- weak. Everyone else is in the other universe. There were some unaccounted for risks in one universe - friends that are smart enough to assist them. How did that happen?"

"The multiverse is nearly impossible to navigate," he said, staring down at her. "It is incredible that you found her so soon, sweet."

"Mm," Ruby shook her head. "Let's get started."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

**Adelaide Snape's Universe**

It happened when he was rushing down into Knockturn Alley with his head down. At first, he thought he was being cursed - he didn't come by such obvious spots anymore, but he needed something that only Knockturn Alley would have - but when the pain increased with the light, he realized it was something else entirely. Then, he disappeared.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

**Alexia Potter's Universe**

Mia was in the room she'd been placed in when it happened. Dorea was by her bedside, of course, but she could do absolutely nothing as the girl, who was so sick she could barely move or speak, lit up, shouted in pain, and then disappear.

By the time Dorea got downstairs, the other two girls - including her precious daughter - were missing as well.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

He'd gotten home from the party - which had been cancelled when Lucius went missing - hours earlier. To be completely honest, he was more annoyed than anything when it happened. He'd finally finished the homework he'd planned to do that night when he lit up and was popped away.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

**Founder's Universe**

Being chewed out by his boss was frustrating, but certainly not the end of the world.

No, the end of the world was Voldemort himself coming to visit him and spending an hour torturing and yelling at him for the events of the DOM fight. He was almost grateful when, in the middle of a _Crucio_, he lit up like a Christmas tree and was yanked away from the torture.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

**Mia Potter's Universe**

He'd been spending the past month in America trying to track down the family of the traitor that had first refused to return to the Dark Lord and then, during the final battle, come to Mia Potter's aid. It disgusted him.

The biggest surprise to him in the past month was finding an actually solid lead on Dodd's wife and daughter. Unfortunately for him, the lead was followed by a blinding light and pain and then being disappeared from where he was.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

**Golden Trio Universe**

The basement of Grimmauld Place was, in his opinion, fucking boring. He'd almost thought something exciting would happen when he felt _something_ touch his mind and voices on the floor above him, plus some commotion. But then they'd left, and he found that he couldn't even throw wandless curses at the door anymore as someone had apparently realized they needed to ward it to keep him there.

Despite the wards, despite the chains, despite the empty house, something finally happened.

He disappeared.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

**Ruby Dolohov's Universe**

When everyone got to the new universe, they were first confused.

Then they all understood, to varying degrees, what had happened.

On one side of the room was Alexia, Adelaide, Hermione, Mia, F. Hermione, and Cassiopeia.

On the other side of the room was six different versions of Dolohov.

Five of the women put up shields. Five of the men grinned, smirked, or glared at them.

And then there was Alexia and A.P Dolohov.

Alexia, for the first time ever, was more than pleased to see him. As she was on the side of the room, just like him, she hurried over to him and he pulled her away from the others. "_You won't fucking believe what I've been through_."

"_You remember how I told you I have boundaries? Things I would never do to you?_" he asked her as he pricked her hand. She let him, already aware of what he wanted her to do. She quickly cast the shield in front of them and pulled him over to stand with the other women. He added his own blood shield as well as his alternate selves began throwing hexes, curses, and anything else they could think of.

"_Yes?_"

"Why the _fuck_ are you speaking Russian?" Cassiopeia snapped at her. "And why the fuck would you bring him here? I'm starting to agree with Mia about you."

"_These men will do what I will not," _Dolohov continued, reaching out to adjust her hands to strengthen the shield. "_You could be very badly hurt._"

Alexia eyed him. "_I trust you to help protect me. I'll be fine, right?_"

"_Right._"

"Mia!" Adelaide exclaimed. She dropped her shield to grab the girl, who was no longer able to stand and hold a shield. Cassiopeia and F. Hermione were forced to hold up the shield in place of Mia. "She's getting bad, guys."

"_Where are we_?" Alexia asked, looking around. Dolohov's lips twitched despite the situation.

"_Russian, Potter. You forget._"

"Where are we?" she repeated, rolling her eyes at him. "Is this it? Is this what's been happening? It's them?"

"I met him," Adelaide nodded at Alexia's Dolohov. "He's just like you said."

"He wouldn't do this," Alexia agreed, pointedly ignoring his grin. "I don't think they would, either, as awful as they are."

"They didn't."

It was difficult for everyone to look at the two people who had entered the large, dark room together and still hold their shields or cast their curses. It led to everyone slowing down a bit as they watched on.

"We did," the woman said, stepping into the light. The sight of her surprised all of the women.

"You're fucking kidding me," Mia said weakly from her place in Adelaide's lap. "I guess Avery did say I'd kill myself one day."

"That's the plan," the woman smiled at her.

"So who the fuck are you and how'd you go so bad?" Cassiopeia questioned sharply, reaching down for her daggers. Alexia and F. Hermione had the same idea and soon they were all holding sharp daggers.

"I'm Ruby Dolohov," she introduced with a small smile. "You heard me right. Dolohov."

"Dolohov tortures us in every universe," Alexia told her with a scoff. She glanced at hers and considered his raised eyebrow. "I can't really count you out because you have literally tortured me in the past."

"_Ah, but you don't mind anymore_."

"But how are you different from us?" F. Hermione asked her.

"My parents were, like Cassiopeia, not originally the Grangers. They were Rabastan Lestrange and Alecto Carrow. When I turned sixteen, I figured out how to travel in time to kill Voldemort in 1981. For good."

"So, what, you're _good_?"

"I killed him because _I_ wanted to be the Dark Lady of this time," she revealed. "It worked for some time."

"A prophecy was made," her husband told them. He looked and sounded just like all the others and his gaze fell over each of them in a very uncomfortable way. "That a Legendary from another universe would be her match. I began studying the multiverse, specifically working on how to manipulate it."

"So that's how we got here," Adelaide scowled. Her mind was hurting worse and worse with Dolohov so close by and it made her sick. "You did this. Why all of us? None of us are a Legendary."

"Mia is," Alexia realized, eyeing her. "Remember? She said after she killed Voldemort, she got a power boost. She's a Legendary."

"Now, I have nothing against the rest of you," Ruby assured them, laughing softly as Dolohov gently pushed Alexia behind him and his shield. "Especially you, Alexia. Out of everyone, you're the closest to having it right. Look at that. He's protecting you. He loves you, don't you see it?"

"He has to," Alexia snapped, poking her head out over Dolohov's shoulder. It had the unfortunate effect of showing them how short she was, which was a bit ridiculous in the situation they were in. "His Patriarch made him. He doesn't give a shit about me."

"Ruby is my wife," Antonin told her with a raised eyebrow. "I know myself. He loves you."

"Can we pivot away from Alexia's weird Dolohov thing?" Cassiopeia requested. "I'd like to get back to my family, if that's okay."

"Oh, I intend to return all of you," Ruby promised. "But it has to wait until I kill Mia. So I suppose it's quite simple. Give her to me and I'll send all of you back home or stay here and wait until all of these men kill you and make it easy for me to kill her."

"This is fucking ridiculous," Adelaide snapped, holding her fingers over Mia's pulse point to make sure she wasn't dying yet. "You pulled us all here to find Mia? She didn't even know you existed! She never would've been a danger to you!"

"But it's the same issue with Harry, isn't it?" F. Hermione pointed out. "If Voldemort had done nothing, Harry wouldn't have been raised the way he was to someday, hopefully, kill him."

"She's right," Alexia agreed. "You're fulfilling your own prophecy, you fucking idiot."

"Do what you want," Ruby suggested. "Make your decisions. You have ten minutes to decide."

She waved her hand lazily at them and they watched as a large shield was raised between the two groups. With that done, the couple exited the room, leaving them alone in silence.

"Damn it," Alexia exclaimed, letting her head fall against Dolohov's back. "Fuck! God, I knew this was Mia's fault!"

"Fuck you, too," Mia managed to snap at her.

"We have one thing going for us," Hermione spoke up. "If we fight them."

"We have literally nothing going for us."

"We have _him_," she said, pointing to A.P Dolohov. "He wants to protect her, right?"

"He isn't coming near me," Mia told them all with a dark glare. "As a matter of fact, I'd like to fucking kill him before I die."

"You're not dying," Adelaide disagreed. "You haven't even married Regulus yet."

Mia's frown turned to a slight pout. "Last time I was this close to dying… I complained to Severus that I had been going to marry Reg. He told me I still would. He's a fucking liar."

"Who here knows wandless magic?" Adelaide asked, ignoring the slightly delirious girl's words. Everyone but Hermione put their hands up. "Good. Who feels confident not using a wand at all?"

Alexia shrugged. "It's easier for me to use my daggers and be wandless."

"Okay. Give her your wand."

Alexia tossed it over to Hermione, who picked it up in confusion.

"Why?"

"Because we're not letting her kill Mia," Adelaide said as if it were obvious. "She's a Legendary. She can kill her. We just have to help her feel better enough to manage it."

"Hey, I- fuck," Mia cursed as she grabbed Adelaide's shoulder and pulled herself into a sitting position. "I killed Voldemort days after I got back to 1998, after being tortured and almost killed by Dolohov, and after Dodd fucking died for me. I can kill this bitch near death, too."

"You're forgetting that you're away from Regulus," Alexia told her. "He helps you, right? He's how you did all of that. You're on your own here."

"She isn't," A.P Dolohov disagreed. "She has all of you."

"Well thanks, guy, but that doesn't do much to help when her magic is rapidly leaving her," Cassiopeia snapped at him.

"It does, actually," he disagreed, narrowing his eyes. It was a sight they were all familiar with and gave them shivers. "Because your magics are similar enough to one another, being alternate versions of one another, that you could create a twin bond."

"I already have one," Alexia reminded him, Cassiopeia nodding along.

"I do, too."

"Not all bonds are first come, first serve," he rolled his eyes. "You will bond and she will tug on your residual pool of magic to fight."

"How would that work?" Hermione asked him hesitantly. "How do you create a twin bond?"

"Mine with Jamie sort of created itself when I got to- er, to Potter Manor," Alexia winced. When Dolohov glanced back at her, she figured he had probably already realized that something was very off.

"Wait, no," Cassiopeia shook her head. "My twin bond with Regulus was created through a blood fealty bond and mind penetration."

"Alexia's was created because she was, according to her adoption, officially James's twin sister," he explained. "Is Regulus your twin?"

"He's my brother, but he's about eighteen years older than me, technically," she admitted, seeing his point. "So we're going to- how do we do that?"

"The same way you created your bond with Regulus. Blood fealty."

"_I am not pledging my wand to Mia_!" Alexia said immediately, stepping back from A.P Dolohov, ready for a fight. "_I won't fucking die for her, Dolohov!_"

"_You won't die at all_," he said sharply, grabbing her hand before she could back into the large shield separating them from the group of Dolohovs trying to break through it. "_You said you trust me to keep you safe, so trust me_."

Her eyes flashing and her lips thin, Alexia just nodded once sharply.

"Can you stop fucking speaking Russian?" Mia requested, managing to glare at Alexia. "Honestly, I think I hate you more than Ruby. Literally anyone else is better than you. Adelaide, for example, is wonderful."

"She told James the truth and put him in danger!" Alexia snapped, taking a step forward. "If anyone finds out, he could die! Voldemort will have me taken, tortured, and killed, just like _you_."

"You say that," Mia said slowly, glaring darkly. "As you stand next to the man that _destroyed_ me. He took everything from me, Alexia. He carved his name into my stomach and you _trust_ him. You are worse than Ruby."

"He wants to protect me from the people that will do to me what happened to you," Alexia replied, her hair beginning to spark. "I won't pretend he isn't awful sometimes, but when Rowle tried to hold me down and removed my clothes, he stopped him!"

"He did that to me!" Mia shouted, leaning a bit harder against Adelaide. "Just before he killed me! And then just as Bellatrix carved 'mudblood' into our arm, he carved his name into my stomach and killed me using _Sectumsempra_ because he didn't manage to do it at school!"

"See a fucking therapist," Alexia scowled. "Take it out on _your_ Dolohov. _Mine_ hasn't done any of that shit."

"To be fair," Cassiopeia spoke up. "You did say he tried to kill you once."

"And he tortured you," Hermione added.

"We do not have time for this!" A.P Dolohov shouted over them. "Sit down, shut up, and get ready because I will be binding you together!"

"We should do it," Adelaide said in a whisper, gaining stares. "He did- he did some of that to me, too, Mia, but this is our lives- _your_ life. I don't trust them, the ones trying to break this shield right now, but I don't think he wants to hurt us. At least, he wants to keep Alexia safe and that sort of includes keeping us safe. As much as you hate each other, we're all sort of the same person. If you're anything alike, she would throw a fucking fit if he just let us die here and saved her."

"Fine," Mia muttered bitterly. "Whatever."

"If it's a ceremony," Alexia said, grabbing her bag to dig through it. "I grabbed my bag. I've got… somewhere… ah!" She pulled out a large bowl and handed it to F. Hermione, who was closest. After that, she grabbed one of her daggers and set it in the bowl. "There we go."

"We don't have time for the frills," A.P Dolohov muttered, moving to set things up immediately. "Alexia, you first."

She moved over to where he had levitated the bowl and stood in front of it and held out her arm. The cut he gave her was deep and bled a lot, but she ignored it in favor of waiting and watching her blood drip down into the bowl.

"Alexia Potter, do you swear your wand, magic, and life to the five other women in this room?"

Hesitantly, she nodded. "I do."

The blood in the bowl lit up briefly before it all disappeared. She gasped in surprise when a mark appeared on her right hand middle finger. Still, he kept going. Soon, he moved over to Mia and kneeled down with the bowl on the floor.

"Full name?"

"Mia Dorea Potter," she answered quietly. As much as she was a fighter and clearly wanted to fight him, she was also very obviously afraid of him. It became clear when he reached out for her arm to cut it and she flinched back against Adelaide. Taking in a deep breath for patience, he looked at her.

"I am not trying to hurt you."

Those simple words were somewhat of a shock for her. Still hesitant, she reached out and let him grip her arm in his hand. She didn't even react when he cut the arm, and nearly whispered the vow. Finally, they were done.

"What now?" F. Hermione asked. "Should she get better?"

"Regulus had to enter my mind to truly trigger the bond," Cassiopeia said hesitantly. "How can all six of us do that at the same time?"

"There is a spell," A.P Dolohov told them slowly, his eyes drifting to Alexia. "I believe only you would trust me to cast it on you."

"Do it."

"It would bring all of us into your mind," he warned her. "It should connect all of you."

"Including… you?" she frowned hesitantly, looking around. None of them would work. All of them had memories of the future regardless of whether or not they'd spent time in the past.

"Including me."

"Can I control what you see?"

"Not at all."

"No," Mia spoke up. "We can't do it."

Alexia looked at A.P Dolohov with a small frown. "If you see something… something you can't know, I have to Obliviate you."

"I will not tell the Dark Lord anything that would put you in danger."

"That's what Dodd said," Mia told him. "Then Voldemort looked into his mind, found my secrets, and had you torture and kill me."

"Fine," A.P Dolohov snapped, glancing over at the weakening shield. "Fine, yes."

"Okay, do it."

"_Inmni Omio_!" he shouted, waving his wand in a wide arc so that it pointed at each of them once. Alexia stumbled back at the force and pain of six minds entering her at once.

"_You're really worried?" Alexia asked softly, staring up at Lucius. He took a moment before he nodded. _

"_Whatever he's doing, Alexia, it isn't for you. He has a very unique power over you now, over your life. We know that whatever this is, it is not out of concern for your safety."_

"_I know," she agreed softly, rolling her head back over the edge of the bench. She let out a small grunt when the train jolted and she hit her neck against the edge. "I keep thinking about it after I see him and talk to him. He's so different from those memories. He was so-,"_

"_Those memories," Lucius told her, waving his wand to bring his outer robes over so she could put them under her neck. She took them gratefully and smiled absently at her friend as she readjusted again. "Those are the real Dolohov. Unleashed, unrestrained, unafraid. He hurt you because he could, because he wanted to."_

_Alexia moved to sit up and look at him seriously. "But he had to know who I am, right? I don't look that different, Lucius. My hair is black, that's it."_

"_I believe he knew that Hermione is Alexia Potter. What happened in the Department of Mysteries happened in full knowledge of who you are. That is why I'm so concerned over your trust in him."_

"_I don't trust him," she muttered with a sigh. "I just… I gotta think that he saw me in the DOM and thought, you know, wow, she looks exactly like that girl I tortured and am sort of related to. And then he decided to hold me back, make me watch Sirius die, and kiss my neck like a fucking creep? I don't get it, Lucius. What is he doing?"_

"_It doesn't matter what he's doing now. What matters is that you know where he ends up. What he's willing to do. You can't forget that he tortured you, Alexia."_

"_I didn't forget," she snapped, surprising them both. "I'm sorry. He held me back to watch Sirius die, chased me the night Dumbledore died and cursed me with that same fucking curse he tried to kill me with in the Forbidden Forest, he choked me in the Forest of Dean, he tortured me in Malfoy Manor, and fought and cursed me in the final battle. What the fuck do I do with that information? It makes no sense right now. I have to be… civil. He's keeping me safe from Voldemort." _

"_Stay away from him," Lucius told her, making her sigh. "It may not be the best answer, but it is all we have for now."_

"_Yeah," she sighed. "I know."_

_Xx_

_Hermione stood with Harry and Ron in front of the castle only minutes after it had ended. They stared at the mess of the broken castle quietly together as well as Voldemort's dead and uncomfortably human-like body lying on the ground. _

"_What d'you think it'll be like?" Ron asked them, breaking the silence. "Now that it's over."_

"_I don't think it is over," Harry answered him honestly. "They don't have a leader, they lost a lot of people, and they're being arrested or scattering, but they're still out there."_

"_He's right," Hermione agreed quietly. "He's right. We aren't really done." _

_Ron fell quiet for a moment before he turned to look at Harry. "And you __want_ _to be an Auror?"_

_Harry let out a surprised laugh. "Now that I'm thinking about it… maybe not."_

_Xx_

"_Is that a __person__?" Sirius asked, pointing to a few stacks of rubbish ahead of them. Alexia's head shot up as she tried to spot what he'd seen. "It is! They're running to us!" _

"_No," she whispered, tensing. "__Fuck__. Everyone get back."_

"_But you don't even know who it is," Regulus denied, confused._

"_I do, and you need to get back," she told him sharply. When no one moved, she put up a shield and overpowered it, shoving it at them so hard that it threw them back and away from her. She waited as calmly as possible for the space between them to close and when she could see him, she breathed out in confusion. "But you died. I watched you die!" _

"_I didn't die," Goyle glared at her, an uncomfortable hunger in his eyes. "You left me there."_

"_We tried to save you," she denied. "It's not my fault you couldn't hold onto Ron. You should've died in here."_

"_Fuck__," Sirius hissed as he finally recognized Goyle. "That's the guy from that memory, from James's boggart."_

"_I'm not the one that's going to die," he told her darkly, raising his wand. She did the same, putting up a quick shield in front of her while still holding the one behind her. "Draco might've saved you earlier, Granger, but I have you now and I don't even have to __share__."_

"_Stay the fuck away from me," she snapped. She was unable to hex him or curse him with both shields being held and she hoped she could manage to protect all of them regardless. _

"_Are you going to tell me why you're so young?" he wondered, stepping closer. She could do nothing to stop him, to her horror, so she put more energy into her shields instead. "You look like you did the first time, in our third year."_

"_You're in the past," she told him. She cursed herself when she heard her voice shake but stared ahead still. "We're in 1974."_

_Goyle laughed, taking another step closer. "That's fucking impossible, Granger. And it doesn't explain why you're fourteen."_

"_Just stay away from me," she spat. "If you hurt me, I'm sure my friends would be perfectly willing to hurt you, too."_

"_It would be worth it," he told her honestly. _

"_Is that why you tried to kill us?" she wondered. "Because you don't care about pissing off Voldemort for killing Harry? You know he'd probably torture and kill you for it, right? If he could, that is. Harry killed him."_

"_I don't give a fuck about him," Goyle snapped, taking another step. He was close to invading her space now and had already passed through her shield easily. It was meant to prevent magical attacks and therefore did nothing for her when he just stepped past it so casually. "I can do what I like as a Death Eater, Granger, including __you__."_

_Alexia felt a wave of nausea and tried to control her breathing. "You're not going to touch me."_

"_Crucio__!"_

"_Sectumsempra__!"_

_Xx_

Everyone fell out of Alexia's mind and the girl in question doubled over in pain. A.P Dolohov grabbed her before she could fall completely and eyed the other girls, who were looking at her quietly. "It should be complete now."

"I can feel it," Mia confirmed quietly. She did, in fact, look much better already. It was incredible how quickly she was getting better, but then again, with five other versions of her supporting her, it made sense that she was on her feet within seconds.

"There we are!" Ruby said, opening the door. "Last chance. Are you ready to die, Mia?"

"Ready to fuckin fight you," Mia said, raising her hand at the other woman. "Let's go."

Ruby looked angry at her state but nodded once. "In that case…"

Before any of them could prepare themselves, everyone but Mia was pushed to the other side of the shield, which was also strengthened greatly.

"Ah, fuck."

Cassiopeia was the first to act. She threw up a shield, one which was backed up immediately by Hermione.

"What was it?" Alexia shouted to Adelaide. "The one they used to protect the castle before the final battle?"

"_Fianto Duri_!" Adelaide shouted back, casting at the same time. F. Hermione followed their lead while A.P Dolohov set up a new blood shield.

"You can't hide from us," A.S Dolohov told them, his eyes on Adelaide. "You feel that? It's just us. It'll be so much easier for you if you just come here. Let go."

"Fuck _off_," Alexia snapped at him. "_Turbine Ignis_!"

"Woah," Cassiopeia gasped, jumping back.

The firestorm spell attacked the men around them, but H.G Dolohov cast the flame freezing curse and suddenly the firestorm was useless, prompting Alexia to drop it and mutter a few curse words in Russian.

"This is no worse than Ollivanders," Cassiopeia told them. "We can handle this."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Adelaide asked her, attempting to curse another man - possibly Mia's Dolohov.

"We were cornered in Ollivanders," Cassiopeia tried to explain in a rush. "It doesn't matter! Four of us hold a shield, everyone else fight."

"Right," Alexia muttered. "Sure, whatever. Let's give it a go."

OoOoOoOoOoOo


	11. Chapter 10

While the other girls tried to hold their own against the men that either wanted to hurt them or just wanted them dead, Mia was trading hexes and curses with Ruby. It seemed their power was nearly matched, which led to what Mia personally thought was a somewhat boring fight.

"This is so dumb," Mia told Ruby honestly as she rather effortlessly deflected a Flipendo Tria. The mini tornado slammed into the shield, causing it to flicker and weaken a bit. "You're wasting your power, Ruby. I've done that before. It's not a good idea."

"I don't need all of my power to kill you," she shot back, tossing a _Confrigo_ at Mia. It grazed her arm and Mia grit her teeth with a dark frown. "You're not strong enough to kill me."

"Is _that_ why you tossed us all over the fucking place?" Mia asked in disbelief. She tried to hit Ruby with a disintegration curse, but the other woman just waved it away with a shield. "You know what? That's hilarious. You _knew_ I would win!"

"Legendaries are strong," Ruby answered as they kept casting. Every once in a while, one of them would get hurt, but neither slowed down or even acted like they noticed it. "But they can be beaten. _You_ will be beaten."

"Fucking bet," Mia scoffed. She silently cast a _Crcuiatus_ and felt a surge of victory when it hit its target. Ruby dropped to the ground and Mia stalked closer, still holding the curse. "I don't like torture, you know, but fuck you, honestly."

Ruby's screams had Alexia spinning around. No one else had the ability to abandon their fights, but A.P Dolohov had her well protected and refused to leave her side.

"_I'll be right back_," Alexia told him, stepping away. He grabbed her wrist and tugged her back.

"_You aren't going anywhere, Potter. Let her handle it._"

"_The second she lets up on that, they'll be back at it_," Alexia argued. "_I know she can do it eventually, but we've got more to fight than just this asshole. I'm going to help her._"

He could do nothing else as she ripped her hand away from him and ran toward the shield. It protected against spells and curses passing through but not people anymore, so Alexia was easily able to slip through and come to stand next to Mia.

"The fuck are you doing here?" Mia asked sharply, looking at her briefly.

"_Crucio_!" Alexia shouted. Suddenly, Mia understood. She let up on her curse and walked over to Ruby, who was writhing on the ground in pain.

"Tell us how to get home," Mia told her firmly. "How to get all of us home. We'll leave and you can fuck up this universe however you want. Just stay the fuck away from me."

"You… were prophesied to kill me," Ruby ground out.

"But I don't feel like it," Mia told her with a small shrug. "So just let us go, you fucking psycho."

"She's not going to," Alexia told her, casting the curse again. "Break her fucking wand."

Despite the fact that Mia was pretty sure Ruby could cast wandless, she did break her wand for the simple fact that there was a small chance it could help them. "I honestly don't want to kill you. Just wanna go home."

"I will kill _all_ of you before I let you go home."

"Okay, fuck this," Mia muttered. "_Avada Kedavra_!"

The spell hit Ruby's chest and the two girls watched as their alternate self died. The shield she'd put up to separate the two sides of the room fell just as the door opened and R.D Dolohov rushed in. Mia spotted the man while Alexia saw the shield. It all happened in seconds. The fight from the other side of the room spread out. R.D Dolohov raised his wand at Mia. M.P Dolohov sprinted forward. Mia raised her hand and cast _Immobulus_ at R.D Dolohov and watched him fall. M.P Dolohov threw a Killing Curse at Mia.

Alexia jumped in front of Mia.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

**Golden Trio Universe**

A.P Regulus felt… uncomfortable. More than that, he felt _pain_. He felt a pain deep inside his core that was so similar to-

"She's dead," he whispered in horror, interrupting Croaker.

"What was that, son?" Croaker asked, glancing at him. "What'd you say?"

"She's dead," he repeated, this time louder. "She's dead, Alexia is dead."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

**Ruby Dolohov's Universe**

Mia was the first person to reach Alexia. She caught her before she hit the ground and cursed loudly. "Damn it! Fuck!"

A.P Dolohov stared at Alexia's body lying in Mia's lap. She looked very… dead. He saw his alternate self aiming for Mia again before anyone else, so he using a cutting hex to slice the man's throat, pleased when he saw him fall to the ground.

After that, it happened pretty quickly. The sight of one of them killing another had shocked and distracted every other Dolohov, prompting the women to either stun, bind, or curse them. Soon, the fight was over.

"She's dead," Mia told Adelaide as she dropped to her knees next to him. "She's so fucking _stupid_!"

"Okay," Adelaide said, dropping her wand to her side as her voice shook. "Come on. Pick her up. We have to figure out how to get back."

Mia moved to stand up with Alexia, but A.P Dolohov grabbed her out of the woman's arms. The two stared at one another for a long moment before Mia turned on her heel and led them all out of the room.

What they found surprised them. It looked like a mix of magic and computers working together. There were screens above the entire contraption showing different universes. In one, they caught sight of all of their friends and family sitting in the ballroom of Potter Manor. They all looked rather grim and somewhat panicked.

"I wonder what this does," Cassiopeia commented. She pressed a large, blue button before anyone could stop her. On the screens, everyone was moved. Suddenly, they all were back in their own universes.

"That could've blown up the universe!" Mia shouted, though she was glad to see they'd all been returned safely. "But how do _we_ get home?"

"There's another button," Hermione told her. They looked at the button in question. It was smaller and labelled underneath. 'Emergency reset.'

With a shrug, Cassiopeia reached out and pressed that one, too.

And they all disappeared.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

**Mia Potter's Universe**

Despite the few second delay between the buttons being pressed, everyone that had gone missing was thrown back to Potter Manor at the same time. Mia would've been suspicious of being home, truly being home, if it weren't for the fact that she felt her bond snap back into place. Mere moments later, Regulus was pulling her to her feet and holding her tightly against him.

"I was so worried," he whispered into her ear. She squeezed him tightly, relief flooding her.

"You have no fucking idea," she shook her head. She spotted Avery nearby and made a face at him, earning herself an amused look and raised eyebrow. "You were right, Avery."

"About what?"

"That I was going to kill myself someday," she explained, pulling out of the hug with Regulus.

"_You_ killed Alexia?" Ron asked her in horror. She paused, guilt and anger flooding her.

"What happened, Little Lion?" Regulus asked her gently.

"All of this was an alternate version of _me_," she told them. "She's a Dark Lady. Er, she was. She apparently heard a prophecy that I would be the end of her or whatever. She was right, I guess. Would've been fine if she'd just left us the fuck alone."

"You literally killed yourself?" Harry asked her with a snort.

"What happened to Alexia?" Avery asked her quietly. She frowned to herself.

"I was distracted, I didn't see him coming. She did. She took the _Avada_ for me."

"Fuck," Regulus cursed softly. "Are you okay?"

Mia shrugged lightly. "Her Dolohov got super pissed and- well, he-," Mia was cut off by a loud scream outside the room. The group ran out quickly and stopped short at the sight before them. "That. He did that."

The body of Dolohov laid on the floor in front of them, giving them all a feeling of peace.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

**Golden Trio Universe**

Hermione was dropped on the floor and she let out a groan. Within moments, Harry and Ron were at her side and talking to her, and it took another minute for her to pull herself together.

"You're hurt," Harry told her nervously, eyeing her stomach. "What happened?"

"Dolohov," she managed, pulling herself into a sitting position. When she went to prop herself up, she noticed the wand still in her hand. "Oh- oh, god. I have her wand."

"Whose wand?" Ron asked. "Who hurt you?"

Hermione got to her feet with Harry's help and looked around. The large room of people were gone and all that was left was Bill and Charlie, who were standing nearby. Bill was sending a Patronus, and Charlie was summoning something - a potion, she realized.

"It's over," she told them instead of replying to the question. "We figured it out. It's over."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

**Cassiopeia Black's Universe**

When they returned, they were all dropped in the library of Grimmauld Place where everyone had gathered. Cassiopeia laid on the floor with her eyes closed, ignoring everyone else. When she poked around at the bond, she could feel other people - it was faint, but they were there.

"Thank fuck," Daphne breathed. She got to the floor and laid down next to Cassiopeia. "You had us worried."

"Really?" Cassiopeia let out a hysterical laugh and finally opened her eyes. "I have no clue why."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

**Adelaide Snape's Universe**

When Adelaide got home, she was glad to see that no one was freaking out too badly. That being said, she wasn't surprised by the way Regulus threw himself into her arms and held her tightly against him. She held him back, breathing in the familiar smell of him.

"So I hated that," Harry announced, gaining a chuckle from Avery. "You didn't? That was fucking terrible. I don't ever want to see my face again."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

**Founders' Universe**

When Hermione fell into the room everyone had been gathered in for too many hours, she fell directly onto Theo. The two of them crashed to the ground, and finally untangled. His thumb brushed her neck and he froze when, to his great relief, he felt nothing.

"Oh, thank Merlin," he breathed out in relief. "Thank Merlin."

"That's an odd 'welcome home,'" Ron said to Harry. "That is weird, right?"

"Definitely weird. What's up?"

"Amelia said- I didn't feel-,"

"He's trying to say he got freaked because her alternate self is his alternate self's bond mate," Blaise explained for his friend with a laugh. "Not true?"

"Definitely not true," Theo confirmed. "Not a thing."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

**Amelia Black's Universe**

Amelia dropped into the meeting room that her family went to for emergency meetings. In fact, she fell directly into the middle of the table. By the time she managed to roll off and spot Draco, the room had erupted into noise and they were both being crowded. She found herself sandwiched between her father and Uncle Regulus, and she relished in it. She'd been so afraid she wouldn't get back that she never wanted to leave them again.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

**Alexia Potter's Universe**

**1976**

It was Alexia, Regulus, and Dolohov that went back in time again. Harry and Ron were left in 1998.

The three appeared in Potter Manor together. Dolohov was still holding Alexia, and as soon as he recognized their surroundings - Mia's bedroom - he quickly set her on the bed. Regulus didn't even speak to him as he hurried over to her. He brought her back in the same way that he'd done the first time and moved back to give her some space.

When her eyes opened, they settled first on Dolohov. Panic filled her chest and she tried to move away.

"_I killed him_," he told her. "_You are fine, Alexia. Breathe._"

She blinked rapidly at him and took a moment before she spoke. "_Where are we_?"

The door slammed open to reveal James looking terribly panicked. "Alexia!"

"Jamie," she breathed out in relief as he tossed himself into her arms. "Ow. Fuck. Whoever said a Killing Curse doesn't hurt is a fucking liar."

"I think that's from the curses you took," Dolohov suggested. "Mia caught you before you even hit the ground."

Alexia screwed up her face. "I can't believe I died for Mia."

"What the _fuck_ is Dolohov doing here?" James asked, raising his wand. Alexia waved her hand at him, disarming him lazily.

"He's really not the bad guy here, Jamie," she promised. "It's fine. It is fine, right? What happened after he killed me?"

"I also would like to know what happened," Regulus agreed. "I felt her die and not five minutes later, we disappeared."

Dolohov looked down at Alexia. "If I answer your questions, you answer mine."

"I have to Obliviate you," she reminded him sharply. "You agreed."

"But not before you explain."

"Fine."

Satisfied, he nodded. "The person behind all of this was an alternate version of Alexia. Ruby Dolohov."

"_Dolohov_?" James asked, his eyes widening.

"She was the daughter of Rabastan Lestrange and Alecto Carrow," Alexia confirmed quietly. "She went to the past, to 1981, to kill Voldemort so she could become a Dark Lady. She married Dolohov."

"Mia is a Legendary," Dolohov glanced at Alexia, who nodded.

"She was the Light Lady who killed Voldemort. Her friends thought she was a Legendary, and that apparently became true after killing Voldemort."

"There was a prophecy that she would be the one to match or kill Ruby," he continued. "So Ruby went through all of this to… get ahead, I suppose. Mia and Alexia tortured and then killed her. After that, Ruby's husband entered the room and-,"

"They brought over every version of Dolohov that's a threat to every version of me," Alexia told her brother and boyfriend. "Ruby held a shield keeping them away from her fight with Mia and then me, and when she died, the shield fell. Mia was distracted and I saw her Dolohov cast the Killing Curse, so I jumped in front of her."

"Which was incredibly stupid," Dolohov spat at her. "Her life is nothing compared to yours."

"Doesn't really matter anymore because I already died and came back, so."

"I killed him," Dolohov continued, glaring at Alexia. "The fight ended soon after that. We found a device that took them… wherever they went. There was an emergency reset button, and it was pressed, sending us back here."

"I brought you back," Regulus told her quietly. "I thought I asked you not to die again, Lexi."

"Sorry," she laughed softly.

"So… can we talk now?" James asked with a small frown. "About the whole… you know."

"He knows," she said, nodding at Dolohov. "By the way, should I still be able to feel that bond with them? Because I definitely do."

"You assume I have extensive enough knowledge of the multiverse to give you an answer?"

"Fair point."

"I have questions," James told her. "If you're from the future, is that why you're okay with Malfoy and Regulus and Snape being Death Eaters?"

Alexia winced and grabbed onto Regulus to sit up. "Regulus is extremely important to the war. He has to be a Death Eater, trusted by Voldemort, for us to reach the future I know. Lucius… we fought a few times in the future. Severus is also important to the war. He provided us with something that allowed us to end it completely. Got me tortured, too, but whatever."

Dolohov eyed her quietly. She had a feeling he wanted to speak to her privately, and the idea made her uncomfortable.

"And I… I die?"

Alexia sucked in a sharp breath and stared at her brother. "Jamie… yes, you do."

"Fuck."

"But Mia told me something," she continued quickly. "She told me how she saved you in her universe. I'm going to try it. I think I can do it."

"And your best friend Harry is my son," James remembered. "Adelaide said that's why you always think I'm Harry."

She shrugged. "He looks exactly like you, Jamie."

James looked at her quietly. "You're really in danger?"

"I was a large part of the end of the war," she answered him, regret filling her. She wished he could just know, but Mia's tale of dying had her much too nervous. "I know things about Voldemort. Things he's done and his past. If he went through my head, he'd have an exact map of how to avoid the future I came from where we had won."

"Okay," he nodded firmly. "Do it."

Alexia bit her lip and raised her hand at him. "I love you, Jamie. I want you to know all of it, you know that, right?"

"I know you wouldn't keep secrets if you could help it," he assured her. "I trust you, Lex. Go ahead."

With a deep breath, she nodded. "_Obliviate_!"

Within a couple of minutes, James fell back on her bed and she withdrew from his mind. He passed out there, and she jumped off the bed quietly.

"He'll be asleep for about an hour," she told them softly. "I made sure of it."

"I have to get back," Regulus told her softly, following her and Dolohov out of the room. "Mother is bound to be throwing a fit."

"She probably thinks we kidnapped you," Alexia snorted with a small smile. "Maybe you should stay a little longer. Get her blood pressure good and high."

"We're not trying to kill her, Alexia," he rolled his eyes. She pressed a kiss to his lips.

"Hey, thanks for bringing me back again," she said with a smile. "Death sucks just as much as it did before."

"Try not to sacrifice yourself for anyone else," he requested, walking down the hall.

"No promises!" she called, snorting at the glare he shot at her over his shoulder. Once he was gone, she turned to look at Dolohov, who was waiting patiently at her side. "Ugh."

"_You do make much more sense now, Dorogaya_."

Alexia scowled at him. "_That is a horrible nickname and if you use it again, I will hurt you._"

"_You won't._"

Alexia turned around and walked back into her room. James was sleeping quietly on her bed, so she walked over to the table near the window and sat down. Dolohov sat across from her, and she took a moment to prepare herself. "_Go ahead, I suppose._"

"_You are from the future._"

"_You're not one to state the obvious, Dolohov._"

"_This is why you are… still hesitant, even now. I've hurt you more than I know, yes?_"

"_Even in the future, I knew you had… I knew there was something. My friends knew, and so did the Order after you tried to kill me. Coming here, it completely slipped my mind until Lucius helped me remember._"

"_Perhaps I did not know it was you._"

"_You aren't stupid_," she scoffed. "_I don't look very different. Aside from that, the last time we fought in 1998, you called me Alexia. Before that, you told me… you said I was almost there, almost her. You were looking for me._"

"_I cannot hurt you_," he reminded her. "_I do not _want _to hurt you._"

"_Something changes, then._"

"_I killed someone for you, Alexia._"

"_You killed someone for Voldemort, too_," she snapped, pointing at his arm. "_And against my better judgment, against Lucius's advice, and against Regulus's advice, I _trust _you._"

"_I don't intend to hurt you, Alexia. Not if I can help it._"

"_But you'll hurt other people_," she said. It wasn't a question - it was a fact. "_Do you actually care for me?_"

Dolohov stared at her silently. "_Does it matter?_"

Alexia shrugged. "_You're going to be Obliviated anyway. What's the harm in telling the truth?_ _He said you love me, Dolohov. I just don't see how that's possible_."

"_I care for you_," he confirmed quietly. "_I do. It doesn't, however, change where we stand. What I will do or what you will do._"

"_I can't believe all of this felt a lot more simple when you were trying to kill me_," she said with a small laugh. "_Thanks for helping me there. And… all the other times, I suppose._"

"_What would I tell the Patriarch if I allowed you to be killed in another universe?_"

Alexia sighed and leaned back in her chair. "_You are one of the most frustrating parts of my life to date, you know that? You've spent so long hurting me, Dolohov._"

He scowled at her. "_If you continue calling me by our name_-,"

"_Your name_-,"

"_I will hex you. Use my given name, Potter._"

Alexia rolled her eyes at him. "_You want me to walk around calling you Antonin? Your friends are getting suspicious. You keep protecting me, getting friendly, and they'll attack both of us._"

"_They can try._"

Taking in a deep breath and begging any and all gods for patience, Alexia nodded. "_Alright, _Antonin_._"

"_I will call you Hermione._"

Alexia scoffed. "_You won't remember this bloody conversation._"

"_You will leave this part_," he instructed. "_Call it repayment for killing the man that killed you._"

"_I was already dead! You only saved Mia, who honestly, I wouldn't mind to be dead._"

"_Hermione_."

Alexia's lips thinned at the use of her old name. It was odd how uncomfortable it made her. Still, she nodded sharply. "_I need to see my parents, tell them it's all better now. You need to leave._"

The pair got to their feet and she raised her hand to remove his memory. Before she could cast, he stepped forward and pressed their lips together, surprising her into freezing. When he pulled away, she stared at him.

"_I will not remember, as you pointed out._"

Resisting the urge to hex or slap him, Alexia raised her hand and got to work on removing his memory. It took only a few minutes and when she was finished, she'd put him out for ten minutes. It meant that she had to return him home, much to her dismay. She carried him through the floo and upon arriving in his home, dropped him on the floor and ran back through the floo. She had no urge to see his parents again.

OoOoOoOoOoOo


End file.
